European Union member states will be able to use existing social funds to help citizens access safe abortion services across the bloc. The move follows a campaign calling for equal access to legal terminations in all 27 member states.
Get the latest headlines in your email 
The announcement was welcomed by supporters as a major step for women’s rights. It allows countries to draw on already allocated social service funds to cover travel and access to abortion care.
The decision stems from the My Voice, My Choice campaign. Organisers argued that women in countries with near-total abortion bans, such as Malta and Poland, should be able to obtain services in other EU states where the procedure is legal.
More than 1.2 million people signed the initiative, requiring the European Commission to respond. A majority of Members of the European Parliament backed the proposal in December.
Hadja Lahbib, the EU commissioner for equality, described the move as groundbreaking. She said it aimed to reduce the estimated 500,000 unsafe abortions that occur in Europe each year.
“This is half a million women at risk,” Lahbib said, adding that the figure was “half a million too many”.
The decision comes amid rising support for far-right parties in parts of Europe, many of which oppose abortion rights.
Olivier Bault of Ordo Iuris, a Polish anti-abortion group that supported Poland’s near-total ban in 2020, criticised the plan. He told Reuters it interfered with national authority over health policy.
He said using the European Social Fund for healthcare purposes undermined national laws.
Nika Kovač, coordinator of the My Voice, My Choice campaign, said the decision confirmed that EU funds can be used to guarantee access to safe abortion care, especially for vulnerable women.
She described the announcement as a political commitment to women’s rights. However, campaigners noted that no new funding had been allocated and said they would continue to push for dedicated financial resources.
They also called on the commission to provide clear guidance to member states on how to access the funds and to create a system to help women use the scheme across the bloc.
Manon Aubry, a French Member of the European Parliament, said campaigners would continue their efforts until no woman in Europe is unable to access abortion care.
Join the discussion? 
Already a member? 
Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 26 Feb 2026