European Parliament Backs EU Solidarity Fund to Expand Access to Safe Abortion

Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan

December 23, 2025

HRRC commends the European Parliament for advancing a solidarity-based approach that upholds women’s bodily autonomy and promotes equal access to essential reproductive healthcare across the EU. This initiative reflects a principled commitment to human rights, dignity and shared responsibility among states to protect women’s health and freedoms.

European Parliament Votes in Support of the My Voice, My Choice Initiative for Safe and Accessible Abortion. [Image source: My Voice, My Choice]

The European Parliament has endorsed a resolution supporting a voluntary EU-wide solidarity mechanism to help women access safe and legal abortion when it is restricted or unavailable in their home countries. The move follows the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) My Voice, My Choice, a petition which gathered more than 1.1 million signatures across at least seven EU member states, triggering a formal parliamentary response.

Adopted by a vote of 358 in favour, 202 against and 79 abstentions, the resolution calls on the European Commission to establish an opt-in financial mechanism, backed by EU funding, that would allow participating member states to provide abortion care in line with their national laws to women originating from other EU countries. While abortion policy remains a national concern, lawmakers stressed that significant legal and practical barriers persist across Europe, leaving an estimated 20 million women without full access to safe and legal abortion services.

The resolution highlights huge differences in policy among EU states, including total or near-total bans in countries such as Malta and Poland coexisting alongside more progressive policies such as France’s constitutional protection of abortion rights or the removal of mandatory waiting time in Luxembourg and the Netherlands. MEPs also expressed concern over a growing backlash against women’s rights, increased harassment of abortion providers, and the spread of disinformation.

Supporters of the resolution argue that the proposed mechanism would promote solidarity by European member states by sharing the financial burden among members already providing cross-border reproductive healthcare and by reducing health risks linked to delayed or inaccessible abortion services. The European Commission has until March 2026 to outline its response and any measures it intends to take.

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Glossary

• Abortion - a medical procedure to end a pregnancy, considered essential healthcare for reproductive autonomy, physical/mental health and preventing unsafe procedures. Reasons for abortion include contraceptive failure, rape/incest, severe fetal anomalies or health risks to the pregnant person.

• Abstentions – An act or state of avoiding or refraining from something. Here, it means to refuse to vote.  

• Commend: To praise or appreciate. 

• Constitutional protection: Rights that are safeguarded by a country’s constitution.

• Contraceptive failure: When a birth control method does not prevent pregnancy.

• Cross-border care: Medical treatment received in another country.

• European Commission – The European Commission is the executive body (the "government") of the European Union (EU). It is responsible for the day-to-day running of the EU, much like a country's government is responsible for the daily operation of its nation.

• Mechanism – a natural or established process by which something takes place or is brought about.

• Fetal anomalies: Serious physical or genetic problems in a developing fetus.

• Parliament: The main law-making body of a country.

• Progressive reforms: Changes in laws or policies aimed at improving rights and equality.

• Reproductive autonomy: The right to make personal decisions about reproduction and pregnancy.

• Resolution – Decision, declaration, settlement or solution after a formal meeting or discussion. 

• Solidarity: Mutual support and shared responsibility among people or states.

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References

1. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20251211IPR32167/my-voice-my-choice-meps-support-citizens-initiative-on-accessible-abortion

2. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/12/17/european-parliament-asks-for-eu-funds-to-finance-abortions-abroad

3. https://www.reneweuropegroup.eu/news/2025-12-17/european-citizens-initiative-on-abortion-access-endorsed-by-european-parliament

4. https://www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1885827/european-parliament-calls-for-eu-solidarity-mechanism-for-safe-abortion