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Brussels – Preventing risky artificial terminations of pregnancy is a public health issue, said European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib in a debate in the European Parliament on the European citizens’ initiative My Voice, My Choice for safe and accessible abortion in the EU. The coordinator of the initiative, Nika Kovač, meanwhile called for unity and action.
“Your initiative brings an important message. Preventing risky abortion is a public health issue, and this is without a doubt true,” Lahbib said in the debate on the My Voice, My Choice initiative in the parliamentary Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). This must be addressed, she said, the only question is how to do it and at which level.
She explained that the Commission has not yet adopted a position on the initiative, but its response will take into account the limitations regarding the EU’s competences in the field of health. Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU stipulates that the provision of healthcare, including in the field of sexual and reproductive health, falls within the competence of the member states, she added.
The director of the Slovenian non-governmental organization Inštitut 8. marec, Nika Kovač, said in the presentation of the initiative, which she coordinated, that the proponents are aware that the EU cannot interfere in national legislation. However, it must protect its citizens when national legislation endangers them. Therefore, they are calling on the Union to establish a financial mechanism that will enable women from areas where they cannot obtain a safe abortion to travel to where abortion is accessible and safe and where they will be able to undergo the procedure.
“I call on you, members of the European Parliament and people in positions of power, to show unity, take responsibility and act,” she urged in her opening address, which was followed by questions from MEPs.
After an almost three-hour debate with members of FEMM and several other parliamentary committees, she assessed that the Commissioner’s response was “extremely positive.” She expressed hope that Brussels would support their proposal.
In two weeks, MEPs will discuss the initiative for safe and accessible abortion in the EU at the plenary session in Strasbourg, where a vote on a resolution on this topic is also scheduled. The Commission has time to respond to the initiative until the beginning of March 2026. (2 December)