The EU Commission backed on Thursday (26 February) the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ campaign by guaranteeing that member states can use EU funds to finance safe abortions — but it fell short of ensuring access across the bloc.
The campaign, which has gathered the support of more than 1.2m Europeans, seeks to guarantee access to safe abortion for every woman in Europe. It has also been backed by the European Parliament.
The EU executive had concluded that “it is possible to use EU funds to support member states’ efforts for better access to safe and legal abortion care and thereby reduce the number of unsafe abortions,” commission vice president Roxana Minzatu told reporters on Thursday.
On a voluntary basis, EU governments will be able to reprogramme or use their national European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) envelopes to improve access to abortion.
Although health policy lies in the hands of national governments, meaning that the commission’s stance will have no impact in countries that do not want to ease access to abortion, it is a major political signal.
The commission does not plan to introduce a new law on the issue.
For her part, EU equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib said that the commission would ensure that EU money would be made available to national capitals to “enhance access to affordable abortion, while member states ensure the funds reach women seeking safe and accessible abortion.”
Activists had expressed concern earlier this week that the EU executive would not endorse their campaign.
‘My Voice, My Choice’ says that more than 20 million women in the EU do not have access to safe abortions.
Two countries in the European Union, Poland and Malta, still don’t allow abortion for women except in very critical circumstances.