Far-right push threatens EU-backed abortion funding

The ECR group is trying to block EU social funding for abortion access

Thomas Mangin, Euractiv
March 11, 2026

Barely two weeks after the European Commission gave the green light to the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative, the future of its financing has once again become uncertain amid an ongoing battle between pro- and anti-abortion groups in the European Parliament.

On 26 February, the European Commission opened the door to financial support for abortion access across the EU by adding it to the list of areas that can be supported through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). This could allow people who need to travel for an abortion to have some costs — such as transport or accommodation — covered.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/news/far-right-push-threatens-eu-backed-abortion-funding/

11.03.2026

News

Christophe Clergeau

European Commission

European Conservatives and Reformists

Manon Aubry

My Voice My Choice campaign

EU Opens Funds for Safe Abortion Access But Long-term Financing Remains Uncertain

March 8, 2026
Felix Sassmannshausen

In a landmark decision, the European Commission is allowing member states to utilize existing EU funds to finance access to safe abortions. This move represents a significant shift in European reproductive health, although it stops short of providing financial certainty for women seeking essential reproductive healthcare.

“Behind every unsafe abortion is a woman forced to risk her life because she has no safe alternative, no support, and no protection,” stated European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib following the decision last week.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/eu-funds-for-safe-abortions/

08.03.2026

News

European Citizens’ Initiative

European Commission

European People’s Party

Obama Leader and Scholar advances reproductive rights in Europe

Nika Kovač's "My Voice, My Choice" pushed the EU to advance reproductive rights, expanding access to safe abortion for millions.

March 6, 2026

Nika Kovač was sitting in a university classroom in New York City as an Obama Scholar when the US Supreme Court decision leaked in the press in May 2022: American women would lose the right to an abortion nationally, and it would be up to each state to legislate access.

“It was the first time that I saw very practically how something that is taken for granted can be taken away in a moment,” said Kovač, a reproductive rights advocate from Slovenia.

Continued: https://www.obama.org/stories/obama-leader-and-scholar-advances-reproductive-rights-in-europe

Slovenian Campaigner Hails ‘Historic’ Advance for Abortion Rights in Europe

Vuk Tesija Osijek
March 3, 2026

Nika Kovac, head of a campaign for safe and free abortion in the EU, tells BIRN that European Commission approval for funding pregnancy terminations abroad for women who can’t access abortions in their home countries is a civil rights victory.

Speaking a few hours after the European Commission decided that member states may use an existing EU social fund to provide free abortions for women who travel from EU countries that restrict access to safe abortion, Nika Kovac was jubilant.

The Commission was responding to a proposal from the My Voice, My Choice women's rights campaign led by Kovac, a 33-year-old Slovenian anthropologist, sociologist and activist.

Continued: https://balkaninsight.com/2026/03/03/slovenian-campaigner-hails-historic-advance-for-abortion-rights-in-europe/

03.03.2026

News

European Commission

My Voice My Choice campaign

EU unlocks funding for safe abortion travel but it’s a long road for Maltese women

The European Commission says existing EU funds can support access to safe abortion care, including travel abroad, but with abortion illegal in Malta, any benefit for Maltese women will depend on other countries or NGOs stepping in

2 March 2026
by Laura Calleja

The European Commission has said existing EU funding programmes can be used to support access to safe abortion care, especially for women in vulnerable situations.

The clarification followed the commission’s decision not to create a new funding mechanism to expand abortion access across Europe as requested by pro-choice activists. The request was made after 1.2 million citizens from all EU countries backed the My Voice, My Choice initiative.

Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/140023/eu_unlocks_funding_for_safe_abortion_travel_but_its_a_long_road_for_maltese_women

02.03.2026

Commentary

Cyrus Engerer

European Commission

European Social Fund Plus

Isabel Stabile

Life Network Foundation

My Voice My Choice campaign

Women across EU celebrate approval of European Citizens Initiative on abortion rights

Friday, 27 February 2026
By Mose Apelblat

The European Commission gave a positive reply on Thursday to the initiative ‘My Voice, My Choice: For safe and accessible abortion’, which reached about 1.2 million verified signatures last year.

To be successful, a European Citizens' Initiative, which is the EU’s main instrument for participative democracy, must reach one million statements of support as well as minimum thresholds in at least seven Member States.

Continued: https://www.brusselstimes.com/1993475/european-women-celebrate-approval-of-european-citizens-initiative-on-abortion-rights

27.02.2026

News

abortion funding

European Citizens’ Initiative

European Commission

European Social Fund

Hadja Lahbib

My Voice My Choice campaign

EU Commission rejects new abortion financing proposal, points to existing fund

Countries may need to amend an existing fund to use it to support women who wish to travel to access abortion within the EU.

February 26, 2026
By Claudia Chiappa

BRUSSELS — The European Commission will not set up a new financing scheme to expand abortion access in Europe, rejecting a proposal backed by nearly 1.2 million European citizens.

The Commission, however, said countries could use an existing fund to help women pay for abortion services — something activists behind the campaign described as a “victory.” But first, some countries may need to amend programs covered by this fund.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/european-commission-rejects-new-abortion-financing-proposal-points-to-existing-fund/

26.02.2026

News

abortion funding

Christine Anderson

Europe of Sovereign Nations

European Commission

European Social Fund

Hadja Lahbib

My Voice My Choice campaign

Europe

Human Rights

Politics

Left-wing MEPs push European Commission to finance abortions across borders

Signed by 105 MEPs, the letter to Ursula von der Leyen calls for a European fund to ensure effective access to reproductive healthcare, a move one million European citizens have requested.

By Vincenzo Genovese
25/02/2026

One hundred and five members of the European Parliament sent a letter on Wednesday to the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, asking for a European-funded pathway that ensures real and effective access to abortions.

The letter aims to put pressure on the Commission, the day before the decision on the European Citizens’ Initiative “My Voice, My Choice”, which collected 1,124,513 signatures across all 27 countries and asked to improve access to safe abortion in Europe.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/02/25/left-wing-meps-push-european-commission-to-finance-abortions-across-borders

25.02.2026

My Voice My Choice campaign

Europe – ‘My Voice, My Choice’ fears Commission rejection of abortion initiative

The organisation has launched a last-minute email campaign to sway the Commission

Thomas Mangin, Euractiv
Feb 23, 2026

The association ‘My Voice, My Choice’ fears that the European Commission could, this week, reject the initiative aimed at guaranteeing access to safe abortion across the EU – and is mounting a last-ditch lobbying effort.

According to our information, the Commission is set to decide on Thursday whether to give a positive follow-up to the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which would create a voluntary fund to help women obtain an abortion in another EU country if access is not guaranteed or safe in their own.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/news/my-voice-my-choice-fears-commission-rejection-of-abortion-initiative/

23.02.2026

News

European Commission

My Voice My Choice campaign

Europe

Politics

Pressure mounts on Commission as 170 groups back EU abortion initiative

Commission faces 2 March deadline on ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative

Thomas Mangin, Euractiv
Feb 4, 2026

Pressure is mounting on the European Commission after 170 civil society organisations wrote to Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, urging her to follow up on the “My Voice My Choice” initiative, which aims to facilitate and safeguard access to abortion across the EU.

The signatories seek to push the European executive to establish a support fund for access to abortion, in line with the demands set out in the “My Voice, My Choice” initiative. The Commission must decide by 2 March whether it intends to give legal follow-up to this European Citizens’ Initiative, which gathered more than one million signatures in 2025.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/news/pressure-mounts-on-commission-as-170-groups-back-eu-abortion-initiative/

04.02.2026