The Commission's February 26, 2026 announcement stops short of creating a new dedicated funding mechanism or a European right to abortion. Instead, it clarifies that existing ESF+ resources can be used to help women who are barred from obtaining safe and legal abortions in their home countries. Women's rights groups and activists hailed the move as historic, while critics argued that by declining to establish a dedicated fund, the EU was effectively failing to act.
The decision came after the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on December 17, 2025, with 358 votes in favour, urging the Commission to submit a proposal for a dedicated financial mechanism. The Commission did not establish a new European right to abortion in a new law, nor did it create a new funding mechanism. According to Katrine Thomasen, Europe's Associate Director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, this is the first time the EU is affirming that its funds can be used for abortion care.
The citizens' initiative's motion states that lack of access to abortion in many parts of Europe poses a risk to women's physical health and places additional economic and mental burdens on women and families, often in marginalised groups.
The 'My Voice, My Choice' initiative was officially registered by the Commission on April 10, 2024, and supported by a coalition of more than 300 organizations. 2 million signatures, though the officially validated number is 1,124,513, highlighting a discrepancy between the collected and validated totals. In Malta, activists collected over 4,000 signatures, twice the expected number.
A public hearing was held at the European Parliament on December 2, 2025, where coordinator Nika Kovač stated that activists had brought their own chair to the places where they usually don't have chairs. The initiative is one of twelve European Citizens' Initiatives that have managed to change the agenda in the EU Parliament since the instrument was created 14 years ago. According to Euronews, Nino Kavelashvili, an Ambassador of the European Citizens' Initiative, described how the 'My Voice, My Choice' initiative resulted in the EU recognising this issue as an important public health issue.
The 'My Voice, My Choice' initiative resulted in the EU recognising this issue as an important public health issue.
He also noted that without this initiative, the issue might not be on the agenda at all. The citizens' initiative's motion states that lack of access to abortion in many parts of Europe poses a risk to women's physical health and places additional economic and mental burdens on women and families, often in marginalised groups. An estimated 20 million women in the EU lack access to safe abortion.
Healthcare policy is typically determined at a national level in the EU, and the EU's competence in healthcare is restricted; it can support, coordinate or supplement actions of member states but cannot impede on national laws. Member states that wish to benefit from the ESF+ for abortion services will need to establish programmes and define how patients can benefit. The specific programmes and criteria for accessing these funds, as well as the number of participating member states, remain unclear.
Without this initiative, the issue might not be on the agenda at all.
The timeline for implementation and potential legal or political obstacles also have yet to be determined. Nika Kovač, an anthropologist and Slovenia's Woman of the Year 2021, and her institute '8 March' are at the start of the initiative, which aims to improve access to abortion across Europe. According to Euronews, Kavelashvili also described how democracy in the EU is complemented by direct participation and is participatory.
Before an initiative is discussed in the EU Parliament and the Commission adopts a position, people from at least seven countries have to join forces on a single issue, as is the general rule for European Citizens' Initiatives.
Democracy in the EU does not only work through institutions, but is also complemented by direct participation and is participatory.
At the public hearing, coordinator Nika Kovač stated that activists had brought their own chair to the places where they usually don't have chairs.