The European Commission has confirmed that EU member states can use existing funding to cover safe abortions, following a citizens’ initiative that gathered 1.1 million signatures advocating for women who lack access to legal and safe terminations.
The initiative, My Voice, My Choice, welcomed the decision as a win for women’s rights in Europe. However, the Commission did not create a new funding facility to help women in countries with restrictive abortion laws travel to regions where the procedure is accessible.
Health policy remains under national jurisdiction, but the Commission highlighted the European Social Fund Plus as a tool member states can use at their discretion. European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib emphasized that nearly 500,000 unsafe abortions occur annually in Europe, saying, “Safety and freedom must never depend on your postcode and income.”
Abortion is legal in most EU countries, but access varies widely. Countries like Malta and Poland maintain near-total bans, while Italy, where abortion has been legal since 1978, sees uneven availability across regions. Women often travel domestically or across borders to obtain safe procedures.
Campaigners noted that while no new legal instrument was created, the Commission outlined a “concrete pathway” for member states to provide care, according to Nika Kovač.
The move faced criticism from anti-abortion groups, including the Dutch Reformed party SGP and Polish legal advocacy group Ordo Iuris, who questioned the initiative’s influence and funding.
In practice, funds from the existing European Social Fund Plus could cover transport, accommodation, medical costs, and scans for women traveling to another region or country for an abortion. Campaigners urged the Commission to issue clear guidance on implementing this support.
European Citizens’ Initiatives, introduced 14 years ago, allow EU citizens to call on the Commission to propose legal action if an initiative gathers over one million signatures across at least seven member states.
