European Commission registers European Citizens’ Initiative to support safe and accessible abortion

Today (10 April) the European Commission registered a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) for safe and accessible abortion. The decision paves the way for the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ movement to collect the required one million signatures for their cause.

The initiative proposes EU legislation that would establish a financial mechanism to help Member States provide access to safe and legal abortion to all women across Europe.

“The beauty of this proposal is that we are not interfering with national law, we don’t have to wait for Malta or Poland to support the rights of abortion. What we need is countries who support the right to opt in to this mechanism, so that women don’t have to pay themselves,” said Kristina Krajnc of Slovenia’s ‘Institute 8th of March’. 

“We want to ensure that every woman has a right to free and accessible abortion,” said Nika Kovač, the director of Institute 8th of March and coordinator of the campaign. The movement argues that reproductive rights and abortion, in particular, are basic healthcare services and that the right to choose is a fundamental human right. 

Krajnc says that the proposal mirrors existing procedures and that the details of implementation would have to be discussed should the ECI be successful. 

The Commission is clear that the decision to register does not prejudge its final legal and political conclusions on the initiative and any action it would take. The Commission found that the ECI addresses an area where it has existing powers. The proposal does not concern the granting of a right to abortion at EU level, but could come within the remit of Article 168 (7), which allows the EU to play a supportive role to the actions of Member States in the field of health policy and the organisation and delivery of health services, including sexual and reproductive health.

The My Voice My Choice movement hopes to become the fastest ECI to achieve one million signatures, hoping to do so in time for the European elections in June. 

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