Dear friends,
Last week we celebrated a historic moment. For the first time ever the EU will fund access to safe abortion care.
This historic moment happened because the European Commission decided to listen to its citizens, legal and medical experts, and answered YES to the demands of My Voice, My Choice: for Safe and Accessible Abortion European Citizens’ Initiative.
This was a victory for women's rights that will have immense positive long-term effects. The decision creates a framework for EU funded support for access to safe abortion care to 20 million European women who are without it. And it also, for the first time ever, allows EU member states to use EU funds to improve access to abortion care for their own citizens.
Now it is up to the member states to use the newly created option and we are glad that we are getting unofficial information that member states want to join the program and provide life saving healthcare.
This week brought another important win for women’s rights. The European Commission adopted its new Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030, a strategic document that outlines the Commission's planned activities. For the first time in history, the strategy explicitly supports sexual and reproductive health and rights, including safe access to abortion care.
Importantly, one of the key actions included in the strategy is the implementation of the My Voice, My Choice initiative. After the historic YES, the Commission has now committed to actively working to make the mechanism ensuring access to safe abortion a reality.
Tomorrow is March 8, the International Women’s Day, when we celebrate the fight for gender equality and women’s rights. Two years ago, before March 8 2024 , we publicly launched My Voice, My Choice. We couldn’t be happier how far we’ve come.
Some of you have been with us since the very beginning.
Some joined along the way.
But together we built a community that is now changing Europe.
Thank you for being part of this journey and for never giving up hope.
Hugs,
The My Voice, My Choice team