By Léa Marchal
2 February 2026
Podcast – 5:26 mins with transcript
Abortion bans pushed Polish women to seek risky or costly alternatives. Now the EU faces a showdown: can a new solidarity fund guarantee safe access across borders, or will politics block women’s rights again?
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Long Story Short” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
Conservative religious groups, US-linked think tanks and faith-based organisations are increasingly using the EU capital to push hardline anti-abortion views – blurring the line between belief, lobbying and politics
Emma Pirnay / Thomas Mangin – Euractiv
Jan 7, 2025
Brussels has become an unlikely hub for a well-funded conservative push against abortion rights, as religious organisations, lobby groups and foreign think tanks quietly expand their footprint near the EU’s centres of power.
In late September, American preacher Franklin Graham came to Brussels’ ING Arena to take centre stage at his Festival of Hope. A multimillionaire who inherited his father Billy’s evangelism empire, Graham is known for comparing abortion to “murder” and for his close ties to Donald Trump.
Thursday 4 December 2025
By The Brussels Times Newsroom
The European Parliament hosted on Tuesday a hearing on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “My Voice, My Choice” on safe and accessible abortion for all women in the EU.
At the heart of the initiative is a concrete proposal which respects that health is a national competency: A European financial mechanism that supports EU Member States in providing access to safe abortion care free of charge to women without access in their own country and does not interfere with national legislations.
NPR, By Rachel Treisman
Published November 15, 2025
There's a new twist in the saga of the U.S.-purchased contraceptives intended for sub-Saharan Africa and stuck in Belgium since the Trump administration scaled back foreign aid earlier this year.
This week, questions were raised about whether the stockpile, originally valued at $9.7 million, might be bigger than previously thought. And an official on the ground said some of those products have gone bad.
Authorities in the Flanders region of Belgium confirmed that in addition to the four truckloads' worth of unexpired birth control sitting in a warehouse in the city of Geel, another 20 truckloads of supplies ended up in the village of Kallo but were stored improperly and are therefore unusable — at least as contraceptives.
September 16, 2025
By Rachel Treisman
For months, $9.7 million worth of birth control meant for women in low-income countries has sat stranded in a Belgian warehouse — apparently destined for destruction — as a result of the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid.
…Humanitarians' hopes were seemingly dashed last week, when the New York Times, citing a statement from USAID, reported that the contraceptives had been destroyed. But the next day, it later reported, Belgian authorities entered the warehouse and confirmed the contraceptives were still there.
Monday 7 April 2025
By The Brussels Times with Belga
More than 19,600 abortions were carried out in Belgium in 2023, La Libre reported on Monday.
The figure comes from a biannual report (2022-2023) conducted by 'The National Commission for the Evaluation of the Law on the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy'.
The number of abortions in the past two years has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Approximately 18,000 procedures were recorded in 2018 and 2019, before falling to just over 16,500 in 2020 and 2021. The number then rose again, reaching 18,574 in 2022 and 19,686 in 2023.
While the pope’s position on abortion is not surprising and he has used the same exact words before, his remarks come at a sensitive time for Belgium.
October 3, 2024
By Ketrin Jochecová
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo summoned the Vatican’s ambassador to Belgium, Franco Coppola, on Thursday after “unacceptable” comments by Pope Frances on abortion.
Earlier that day, the Free University of Brussels (VUB) had urged the Belgian government to call the Vatican to account over statements by the pope comparing doctors who perform abortions to hitmen.
It was the second time in as many weeks that Francis has been asked about his views on abortion, which remains a hotly-contested issue for the Catholic Church
By Euronews with AP
Published on 30/09/2024
Pope Francis wrapped up a troubled visit to Belgium on Sunday by doubling down on his traditional views on abortion, calling the abortion law “homicidal”.
“Doctors who do this are — allow me the word — hitmen. They are hitmen," Francis said. “And on this you cannot argue. You are killing a human life.”
Thursday 18 July 2024
By The Brussels Times with Belga
The Belgian Parliament passed an emergency set of abortion-related legislative propositions on Thursday.
Last year, an expert group advocated for extending the legal limit for voluntary termination of pregnancy from 12 to 18 weeks post-conception, and eliminating the mandatory consideration period.
Efforts to amend the 1990 law are due to several reasons, including the hundreds of women choosing to abort in the Netherlands annually where legislation is more liberal.
Thursday 4 July 2024
By Ciara Carolan
Amnesty International has launched a petition to decriminalise abortion in Belgium. The launch coincides with the first parliamentary session to take place since elections on 9 June.
In Belgium, abortion is accessible up to 12 weeks after conception, and longer if there is a threat to the mother's health. Before an abortion is authorised, the pregnant individual must be informed about adoption and other alternatives as well as "reflecting" on their decision for six days after the initial appointment. Violations of these measures are sanctioned, and medical professionals may conscientiously object to performing an abortion.
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