Members of the European Parliament delivered a powerful affirmation of reproductive rights across the European Union by endorsing the European Citizens’ initiative ‘My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion’.

DiEM25 is delighted that MEPs have voted, on December 17, in favour of urging the European Commission to establish a voluntary, opt-in financial solidarity mechanism to improve access to abortion care for those who currently lack it in their home Member State.

With 358 votes in favour, 202 against, and 79 abstentions, Parliament called on the Commission to consider measures – financial and legislative – to support access to safe, legal abortion across the EU, with a formal response due by March 2026. The text recognises that, despite EU commitments to human rights and gender equality, many women still face insurmountable legal and practical barriers to accessing abortion within their own countries.

The My Voice, My Choice initiative – backed by over 1.12 million citizens from across Europe – proposes an EU-funded solidarity mechanism that Member States can join voluntarily. Participating countries could use these funds to provide abortion services for people from states where such services are restricted or unavailable. The proposal does not harmonise national laws but ensures meaningful cross-border support for reproductive healthcare.

This is a landmark moment for reproductive justice in Europe, particularly for the millions who currently navigate a patchwork of national frameworks.

Abortion laws within the EU vary widely

Some EU countries, like the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Finland and Belgium, provide liberal access with minimal barriers, often allowing abortion on request within specific gestational limits. Spain and France have gone further – with the latter even enshrining abortion rights in its constitution – and the former is debating similar constitutional protection.

By contrast, Malta maintains near-total prohibition, and Poland’s legal regime has become among the most restrictive in recent years, permitting abortion under no circumstances. These disparities leave many without safe, legal options at home and force difficult and costly journeys abroad.

Work still to do, but a positive step

DiEM25 fully supports this vote, which reflects the will of European citizens and a step toward genuine solidarity, equality, and bodily autonomy across the EU. The My Voice, My Choice initiative shows what is possible when grassroots mobilisation meets progressive politics at European level: a tangible improvement in women’s lives and health, grounded in the fundamental belief that reproductive care is a matter of rights, not luck of postcode.

Europe now looks to the Commission to honour this democratic mandate and translate it into action by March.

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