The European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) has endorsed a resolution responding to the European Citizens’ Initiative My Voice My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion.
More than 1.2 million Europeans signed the initiative, urging the EU to act on one of the most fundamental aspects of personal freedom: the right to decide over one’s own body. In its response, the Parliament calls on the European Commission to establish a voluntary, opt-in financial mechanism enabling Member States that choose to participate to provide abortion care for those unable to access it in their home country. The resolution further calls for the mechanism to be included in both the current and next Multiannual Financial Framework, ensuring sustained European support for cross-border reproductive healthcare.
Renew Europe, which led the work on the resolution, has been at the forefront of building the centrist consensus behind this proposal. The group sees this mechanism as a practical expression of European solidarity, helping Member States that already provide abortion care to cover costs for non-residents and ensuring that no person is left behind because of where they were born.
“No woman should have to leave her country just to exercise her rights. Sexual and reproductive healthcare is a basic human right. This vote is a huge win for everyone who stood behind the My Voice, My Choice movement. It shows that when people mobilise and act, they can push Europe to actually deliver. It is a proof that our Union can stand up for both women's freedom of choice, and respect for national laws. This initiative shows what’s possible when citizens and institutions join forces to push for equality and democracy."
Abir Al-SahlaniRenew Europe MEP, Sweden, Centerpartiet
The resolution also reiterates Parliament’s call to include the right to abortion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, recognising reproductive autonomy as a cornerstone of gender equality and fundamental rights in Europe.
Next steps: The resolution will be voted during the November or December plenary session in Strasbourg.