The European Parliament has adopted the scheme that allows women to have an abortion free of charge, under certain conditions
Demonstration in favor of the right to terminate pregnancy, PHOTO: Traci Hahn | Dreamstime.com
The European Parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of a mechanism that would allow women from countries that restrict access to abortion to terminate their pregnancies in another member state for free, reports Reuters.
The citizens' initiative “My voice, my choice” proposes the creation of a fund from the EU budget to cover procedures for people from countries with almost total bans, such as Malta and Poland, or from places where access to abortion is difficult, such as Italy and Croatia.
Although the trend in Europe has been towards wider access to abortion – Britain decriminalizing it and France making it a constitutionally guaranteed freedom – the continent has also seen a substantial increase in support for radical right or far-right parties, many of which oppose abortion.
Following the vote in the European Parliament on the “My Voice, My Choice” initiative, which received 358 votes to 202, the European Commission is due to decide in March whether to adopt the proposal. Reuters recalls that other citizen initiatives have not been fully successful.
Supporters of the initiative, including abortion rights activists and some members of the European Parliament from the left to the center-right, say it would reduce unsafe practices and help women who lack the funds for a procedure abroad.
Critics, including far-right MEPs and some on the centre-right, say the proposal is an unwarranted interference with national laws and at odds with traditional Christian values.
“The EU stands with women”
“Today we show the world, but especially our citizens, that the EU stands with women. The EU supports gender equality, and the EU is not afraid to respect all human rights, including women's rights,” Swedish MEP Abir Sahlani, from the centrist group Renew Europe, told journalists in Strasbourg.
In the run-up to the vote, opponents organized events with the anti-abortion federation One of Us and the European Center for Law and Justice. This is the European branch of the American Center for Law and Justice, an organization that engages in abortion litigation and was involved in the 2022 US Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The 1973 decision guaranteed access to abortion at the federal level in the US, and its repeal allowed conservative states to pass strict anti-abortion laws.
Anti-abortion groups held two conferences in the European Parliament, criticizing the citizens' initiative and demanding that the executive led by Ursula von der Leyen should provide more support for motherhood, not abortion.
“Sending women to more liberal countries is an attack on national order,” Elisabeth Dieringer, of the far-right group Patriots for Europe, told a parliamentary debate on the eve of the vote.
PHOTO: Traci Hahn / Dreamstime.com.
