The European Commission allows the use of EU funds for access to abortion in the entire EU bloc / Women from countries with almost total bans will receive support to access services in other states

European Union member states will be able to use a social fund to help their citizens access safe abortions, according to an announcement hailed as “a victory for women”, notes The Guardian.

The decision announced on Thursday stems from a long-running campaign calling on the European Commission to create a funding mechanism to allow women from countries with near-total abortion bans, such as Malta and Poland, to travel to states where the procedure is legal.

At the heart of the “My Voice, My Choice” campaign was the idea that women in all 27 member states should have equal access to legal and safe abortion.

More than 1.2 million people have signed the initiative, forcing the European Commission to provide a response. The proposal was supported by the majority of MEPs in December.

Women in countries with near-total bans will receive support to access services in other states

The European Commission specified that member states will be able to use funds already allocated for social services to support travel and access to abortion services. “This is a historic moment,” said Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner for Equality. “This decision will change lives.”

The goal is to reduce the roughly 500,000 unsafe abortions that occur annually in Europe, Lahbib said. “That's half a million women at risk, half a million traumatized women, half a million women who may suffer lifelong consequences — and that's half a million too many,” she added.

“Unfortunately, we live in a time where women's bodies have become a political battleground and rights are curtailed around the world. But Europe stands firm.”

The European Union has seen an increase in support for far-right parties in recent years, many of which oppose abortion. Olivier Bault, a representative of the Polish anti-abortion organization Ordo Iuris, which supported the near-total ban introduced in 2020, told Reuters that the EU announcement violates the right of states to set their own health policies.

“To use the European social fund, claiming it can be used for medical purposes, is to make a mockery of Europeans' national laws,” he said.

Instead, Nika Kovač, coordinator of the “My Voice, My Choice” campaign, said: “For the first time, the Commission unequivocally confirms that EU funds can be used to guarantee access to safe abortion services – especially for women in vulnerable situations, no matter where they come from in Europe.

Today is a victory for women in Europe. It is not a symbolic gesture. It's a political commitment to women's rights.”

Although activists expressed disappointment that the European executive did not allocate new dedicated funds, they welcomed what they see as a new way to guarantee women's rights. “Member states must now use the mechanism created,” Kovač said.

The representatives of the campaign emphasized that their efforts continue and that they will insist on the allocation of additional funds, explicitly dedicated to access to abortion. They also asked the Commission to quickly provide clear instructions to Member States on how to access the funds and to create a mechanism through which women can effectively benefit from this scheme at the level of the entire Union.

Left-wing French MEP Manon Aubry said: “We will fight until no woman in Europe dies because she cannot access an abortion.”

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