On 4 February, 170 civil society organisations from across all 27 EU Member States published an open letter urging the European Comission to commit to concrete action on the My Voice, My Choice European Citizens’ Initiative.
Dear President von der Leyen,
Dear Vice-President Mînzatu,
Dear Commissioner Lahbib,
Dear Commissioner Várhelyi,
On behalf of 170 civil society organisations working across all 27 EU Member States, we call on the European Commission to respond positively and decisively to the European Citizens’ Initiative My Voice, My Choice. Specifically, we urge you to commit to present a clear and concrete legislative proposal establishing EU financial support for access to safe and legal abortion care within the EU, with dedicated budget coverage within the next Multi-annual Financial Framework.
The My Voice, My Choice initiative presents a concrete and strategic response to urgent and persistent women’s health needs across the EU. Data and evidence demonstrate that profound inequalities continue to limit women’s ability to access safe and legal abortion care within their EU country of residence and women living in some parts of the EU are still compelled to travel across borders to access safe care in other Member States or seek care outside of legal frameworks. For many of these women, financial barriers present a serious obstacle and can have very severe consequences including significant physical and psychological harm. This undermines women’s dignity, equality and fundamental rights and seriously threatens public health in the EU.
By responding positively to the My Voice, My Choice initiative, and introducing a legislative proposal for an EU financial mechanism, the Commission now has a powerful opportunity to address these threats, prevent harm and put in place a concrete EU-level solution. It can provide a meaningful EU-level response to address the challenges faced by Member States who may wish to assist women from other parts of the EU who need abortion care, as well as the grave forms of harm endured by patients who are unable to secure access to this essential health care in their own Member State.
As underlined by the Commission during the European Parliament debate on 16 December 2025, this initiative “does not seek to interfere with national laws on abortion, which remain under national competence.” Action to give effect to the initiative will not impinge on Member States’ competences or health systems. Rather, My Voice My Choice proposes a proportionate EU-level response through the establishment of a financial mechanism that would simply allow Member States who are willing, on a voluntarily basis and in full accordance with their legal and medical frameworks, to provide abortion care to women from other parts of the EU, to receive EU financial support and reimbursement for doing so. This approach fully respects the principle of subsidiarity and aligns with EU supporting competence in the field of health. It also addresses a cross-border challenge that no Member State can effectively resolve alone. As a result the Commission is uniquely positioned to act.
More than one million European citizens, together with a clear majority in the European Parliament, have called for a positive response from the Commission. We urge you to honour this clear democratic mandate and to uphold the EU’s commitments to gender equality, public health, human rights and freedom of movement. Doing so will save lives and reduce suffering.
Sincerely,
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Full list of signatories via Center for Reproductive Rights.
