European Parliament: text adopted on legal and safe abortion
The European citizens’ initiative “My Voice, My Choice” has reached the European Parliament, which on 17 December 2025 adopted a text calling the European Commission to propose a new legislation on access to safe and legal abortion across Europe.
The text was adopted by 358 votes in favour, 202 against and with 79 abstentions. In line with the “My Voice My Choice” proposal, the Parliament does not call for changes to national laws. Instead, it urges the Commission to establish an EU-funded, voluntary solidarity mechanism to finance abortion care for women and people who need or choose to terminate their pregnancy safely. Under this new mechanism, if a Member State doesn’t guarantee legal and safe access to abortion care, individuals would be able to receive economic support to access abortion services in another European country where abortion is safe and legal.
The European Commission has until March 2026 to set out any measures it intends to take, whether legislative or non-legislative, and to justify its decision.
The European citizens’ initiative (ECI) is a tool that allows EU citizens to call on the Commission to propose new legislation. To be considered, an initiative must gather at least one million signatures from a minimum of seven EU countries. Since the introduction of the citizens’ initiative in the Lisbon Treaty, only 13 initiatives have had success.
“My Voice, My Choice” collected over 1.12 million signatures, reflecting a shared concern across Europe about the importance of safeguarding bodily autonomy and universal access to sexual and reproductive health rights, including especially safe and legal abortion.
Many women in Europe still lack full access to safe and legal abortion. This situation raises serious concerns, not because abortion is unsafe, but it is forbidden, obstructed, emptied or effectively inaccessible due to restrictive laws, inadequate services or lack of trained personnel and healthcare infrastructure in several EU countries. MEPs therefore call on those states to reform their abortion laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.