“Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to petition the European Parliament in accordance with Article 227” [1] This article grants every European citizen the right to petition, not only their national government but also the European Parliament, making the European Union another address for individual or group appeals. And with the “primacy of application” and European law overruling national law with a few exemptions [2], the European parliament has become an interesting contender in the Europe-wide fight for access to safe abortions.
A European initiative under the motto “My voice, my choice” has collected over 1.2 million signatures for their petition to guarantee free and safe access to abortions all over Europe. 185 000 of those signatures have been collected in Germany alone. Founded by the Slovenian activist Nika Kovač, the movement has united several organisations from at least seven different countries, including Poland, where some of the most restrictive bans on abortions have been implemented in recent years. [3] The organisers of the movement cite the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, in which is stated that “the Union shall take into account requirements linked to […] [the] protection of human health” (article 9), and “may also adopt incentive measures designed to protect and improve human health” (article 168). While this may sound complicated, it means that questions of health therefore are not only a part of national government’s responsibility but the EU also has legislative power in this particular aspect. [4]
Since the legal requirement for European initiatives of 1 million signatures within a year has been met, the demands of the movement have now been passed on to the European parliament. A public hearing will take place on the second of December, after the initiative has already been accepted by the Commission in September. Several members of parliament have also expressed support for the movement as well as the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee as stated by a press release from the parliament. [5]
While the movement has been met with widespread support across the union, of course there have also been critical voices, mostly from the conservative spectrum. A commen counterargument claims that the initiative would encourage „abortion tourism“ and allow people to work around national law. Some even argue that the Commission would be overstepping their competencies, as formulated by one law professor: “The Commission cannot contradict head-on the legitimate choices of each Member State in the highly sensitive area of protecting unborn human life.” [6]
So far, the movement has happened within the legal requirements of European petitions and initiatives. How and if the movement will succeed however is still open. It is in the hands of EU institutions to decide whether a European solution for the right to choose will find the majorities necessary and moreover if it is contractually agreeable with European law. A positive outcome would quite frankly upset many conservatives, but would also be a vision of hope for all those fighting for bodily autonomy and women’s rights.
Sources:
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT
[2]https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2022/732474/IPOL_STU(2022)732474_EN.pdf
[3]https://www.bva.bund.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2025/20250611_europ_buergerinitiative.html
[4] https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000004_en