Glasgow, Scotland – The EU Commission has just approved a Citizens’ Initiative to dedicate EU funds to enhance access to abortion care in member states.
“After years, months, days, weeks of work, I can say that today is a victory for women in Europe and today is a good day for European democracy,” said Nika Kovač, who spearheaded the My Voice, My Choice initiative.
My Voice, My Choice (MVMC) called for the EU to dedicate funds to support people who have to travel outside of their home country to receive abortion care. They proposed to create a financial mechanism where member states could opt-in for funding to provide care to people who can’t access it in their own country.
The EU Commission concluded that it was not necessary to create a new legal instrument for this initiative, but that funds available through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) programme could be used to improve legally available abortion services in member states. These funds can also be used to subsidize the cost of travel for people using these services.
Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management, congratulated MVMC for bringing this initiative to the EU:
“Safety and freedom must never depend on your postcode or your income,” said Lahbib, in the Commission’s response. “This is the Europe of equality we want to live in.”
Although MVMC is disappointed that no additional funds are being allocated to this cause, they are happy that the Commission has confirmed that there is a pathway for member states to relieve the financial burden of those travelling for abortion care.
Three years in the making
The campaign was started three years ago in Slovenia, a country where the right to abortion is codified in the constitution. However, after witnessing a near-total ban on abortion in Poland in 2020 and the fall of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. in 2022, Kovač and her compatriots realised that these rights couldn’t be taken for granted.
“We know that rights can be taken away from us,” said Tina Tomšič, who has been involved with MVMC since its start. “We need [the] My Voice, My Choice mechanism. We need protection on an EU level.”
To advocate for this protection, MVMC started a Citizens’ Initiative, a democratic tool that allows proposals receiving over one million signatures to be considered by the EU Commission. Over the past 12 months, they were able to mobilize 1.2 million statements of support across the EU member states.
Last December, the EU Parliament voted in support of the initiative and asked the EU Commission to create a fund in response to their demands.
Via European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights
Read more: EU Parliament backs push for fund to support abortion travel across Europe
Abortion is illegal or highly restricted in Poland and Malta, while in other countries, care can be difficult to access in time due to mandatory waiting periods, short term limits, and doctors who refuse to perform the procedure.
Recognizing the urgency
At the beginning of their press conference following the decision, members of MVMC read out the names of European women who had died because they were unable to access an abortion. They also highlighted the story of Lela, a Georgian woman currently at risk of dying because her hospital in Poland can’t provide her with the abortion she needs.
These stories, they argue, underscore the importance and urgency of the initiative. In the days leading up to the decision, MVMC had been calling on their supporters to flood the inboxes of Lahbib and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reinforce the stakes of their decision.
In her remarks, Kovač said that this victory only came about because of the movement that grew around the MVMC initiative and provided the necessary support to bring it to the attention of the EU.
“What we realized from today’s meeting is that the institution itself will not take care of things. The movement is needed,” she said.
Featured image: Pro-abortion protesters, gathered on Mickiewicza Street in Warsaw
Author: Jakub.zabinski
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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