The European Parliament has voted in favour of the European Citizens’ Initiative My Voice My Choice, marking a significant political moment for reproductive rights across the European Union. The initiative, which has already gathered nearly 1.2 million signatures, calls on the EU to support safer and more accessible abortion through a financial mechanism that would help women travel and access care where it is unavailable in their home countries.
Speaking just after the vote, Abir Al Sahlani, Renew MEP and rapporteur of the resolution, described the outcome as the result of a long struggle led by women across generations. She stressed that the initiative does not interfere with national abortion laws, but instead responds to an urgent reality: more than 20 million women in the EU still lack access to safe abortion.
Al Sahlani warned against the rise of well-funded anti-gender movements across Europe, describing abortion as a “battlefield” where women’s bodily autonomy is increasingly under attack. For her, the vote sends a clear message: the European Union must stand for dignity, equality and the fundamental right of women to decide over their own bodies.
An interview by Dara O'Carroll.
