Abortion rights initiative hits 1 million signatures, prompting EU action

“My voice, my choice,” a citizens' initiative advocating for safe and accessible abortion in the EU, has secured 1 million signatures across the bloc and exceeded the required thresholds in 15 countries — more than double the necessary seven. 

“We managed to connect the entire EU and build a network across Europe. Most importantly, we clearly demonstrated that the right to freely decide about childbirth is a shared value across Europe,” said Nika Kovač, the campaign coordinator, in a press release.  

The initiative, led by the 8th of March Institute, a Slovenian non-profit organisation for gender equality, calls on the European Commission to propose concrete measures ensuring that all EU citizens, regardless of nationality or residence, have access to safe and legal abortion services. 

The one million signatures gathered compel the European Commission to respond to the initiative in a communication formally adopted by the College of Commissioners and decide whether to take any action. 

Safe access to abortion in the EU has been a widely discussed topic across the European institutions.  

In April, the Parliament voted in favour of including access to abortion in the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, an initiative widely backed by the chamber.  

However, the vote was mostly symbolic, as the resolution is non-binding, and enshrining a full-fledged right to abortion access would require the unanimous backing of all 27 member states to be included in the EU's charter. 

Disagreements with the Parliament about abortion were also part of the reason Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi saw sexual and reproductive health removed from his portfolio and placed for the first time under the Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib. 

“It's a member state competence, so we will need an agreement from all of us. We will need this unanimity, but I hope that we will be able to protect women's lives,” said Lahbib during her first appearance in the Parliament’s public health committee.  

She added that it is unacceptable that abortion is not equally accessible in all EU countries, as this only “increases the social differences and the gaps among the member states.”