Offener Brief zur Unterstützung von My voice, my choice

Heute haben 170 zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen aus allen 27 EU-Mitgliedstaaten die Europäische Kommission in einem offenen Brief aufgefordert, die Europäische Bürgerinitiative „My voice, my choice“ zu befürworten und entschlossen zu reagieren. Die Unterzeichnenden fordern die Kommission nachdrücklich auf, einen konkreten Gesetzesvorschlag vorzulegen, der eine finanzielle Unterstützung der EU vorsieht, um den Zugang zu sicheren und legalen Schwangerschaftsabbrüchen innerhalb der EU zu gewährleisten und damit die anhaltenden Ungleichheiten und grenzüberschreitenden Hindernisse zu beseitigen, die weiterhin die Gesundheit, die Rechte und die Würde von Frauen beeinträchtigen.

Civil society open letter to the European Commission in support of My Voice, My Choice

Dear President von der Leyen,

Dear Vice-President Mînzatu,

Dear Commissioner Lahbib,

Dear Commissioner Várhelyi,

On behalf of 170 civil society organisations working across all 27 EU Member States, we call on the European Commission to respond positively and decisively to the European Citizens’ Initiative My Voice, My Choice. Specifically, we urge you to commit to present a clear and concrete legislative proposal establishing EU financial support for access to safe and legal abortion care within the EU, with dedicated budget coverage within the next Multi-annual Financial Framework.

The My Voice, My Choice initiative presents a concrete and strategic response to urgent and persistent women’s health needs across the EU. Data and evidence demonstrate that profound inequalities continue to limit women’s ability to access safe and legal abortion care within their EU country of residence and women living in some parts of the EU are still compelled to travel across borders to access safe care in other Member States or seek care outside of legal frameworks. For many of these women, financial barriers present a serious obstacle and can have very severe consequences including significant physical and psychological harm. This undermines women’s dignity, equality and fundamental rights and seriously threatens public health in the EU.

By responding positively to the My Voice, My Choice initiative, and introducing a legislative proposal for an EU financial mechanism, the Commission now has a powerful opportunity to address these threats, prevent harm and put in place a concrete EU-level solution. It can provide a meaningful EU-level response to address the challenges faced by Member States who may wish to assist women from other parts of the EU who need abortion care, as well as the grave forms of harm endured by patients who are unable to secure access to this essential health care in their own Member State.

As underlined by the Commission during the European Parliament debate on 16 December 2025, this initiative “does not seek to interfere with national laws on abortion, which remain under national competence.” Action to give effect to the initiative will not impinge on Member States’ competences or health systems. Rather, My Voice My Choice proposes a proportionate EU-level response through the establishment of a financial mechanism that would simply allow Member States who are willing, on a voluntarily basis and in full accordance with their legal and medical frameworks, to provide abortion care to women from other parts of the EU, to receive EU financial support and reimbursement for doing so. This approach fully respects the principle of subsidiarity and aligns with EU supporting competence in the field of health. It also addresses a cross-border challenge that no Member State can effectively resolve alone. As a result the Commission is uniquely positioned to act.

More than one million European citizens, together with a clear majority in the European Parliament, have called for a positive response from the Commission. We urge you to honour this clear democratic mandate and to uphold the EU’s commitments to gender equality, public health, human rights and freedom of movement. Doing so will save lives and reduce suffering.

Sincerely,

A.L.E.G., Romania
Abortion Network Amsterdam, Netherlands
Abortion Support Network
ACT (Against Conversion Therapy)
Action For Choice, Ireland
Aditus Foundation, Malta
Afrikagrupperna, Sweden
Akcja Demokracja, Poland
Akto – Human Rights and Democracy, Portugal
Amnesty International
ANEF Association nationale des études feministe, France
Asociación Feminista de Asturias, Spain
Asociația SEXUL vs BARZA, Romania
Asociatia Traditionala Hutulca, Romania
Asociatia UNIC, Romania
Associa DOINA, Portugal
Associação Portuguesa de Estudos sobre as Mulheres (APEM), Portugal
Associação República e Laicidade, Portugal
Associação Ser Mulher, Portugal
Association “Papardes zieds”, Latvia
Association for Integration and Migration, Czech Republic
Association for Nonviolent Communication, Slovenia
Association for Studies, Cooperation and Development (EOS), Portugal
Association SOS Help Line for Women And Children – Victims of Violence, Slovenia
Associazione Luca Coscioni per la libertà di ricerca scientifica (APS), Italy
ASTRA Network
Aufstehn.at – Verein zur Förderung zivilgesellschaftlicher Partizipation, Austria
Ava, Netherlands
BOLD Bulgarians Organising for Liberal Democracy, Bulgaria
Bulgarian Fund for Women, Bulgaria
Bulgarian Platform of the European Women’s Lobby, Bulgaria
Bündnis für Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung, Germany
Bureau Clara Wichmann, Netherlands
Center for Education, Counselling and Research (CESI), Croatia
Center for Equality Advancement, Lithuania
Center for Partnership and Equality (CPE), Romania
Center for Reproductive Rights
Centre d’Action Laïque, Belgium
Centre de planning familial de Forest, Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial de Herstal (CPFH), Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial de Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial Marolles, Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial Ourthe-Amblève, Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial Rosa, Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial Soralia de Verviers, Belgium
Centre de Planning Familial Willy Peers, Belgium
Centre Léa Lor, Belgium
Centre Louise Michel, Belgium
Centre Séverine – planning familial laïque de Bruxelles-Ouest. ASBL, Belgium
Centrul FILIA, Romania
CHANGES for women – Netzwerk und Unterstützung für ungewollt Schwangere, Austria
Ciocia Czesia (Czech Auntie), Czech Republic & Poland
CNVOS, Slovenia
Collectif contraception Charleroi, Belgium
Collectif contraception Liège, Belgium
Collectif Jamais Seules, France
Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Spain
Congress of Laicity (Kongres Świeckości), Poland
Conseil des Femmes Francophones de Belgique, Belgium
Cyprus Family Planning Association, Cyprus
Danish Family Planning Association, Denmark
Danish Women’s Society, Denmark
Der Paritätische Gesamtverband, Germany
Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW)
Dis bonjour sale pute, France
Doctors for Choice Germany
Doctors for Choice Malta
Dolle Mina, Netherlands
EL*C – Eurocentralasian Lesbian* Community
EMMA Association, Hungary
End FGM EU
Equipop, France
E-Romnja Association, Romania
Eumans
European Center of the International Council of Women (ECICW)
European Disability Forum (EDF)
European Network against Racism, Belgium
European Secularist Network/Réseau Laïque Européen
European Women’s Lobby
Everyday Sexism Project Danmark, Denmark
Fédération des Centres Pluralistes de Planning Familial, Belgium
Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial, Belgium
Feminism Romania Association, Romania
Feministički tamburaški front, Croatia
Feminoteka, Poland
Finnish Federation of Graduate Women (Suomen Akateemisten Naisten Liitto), Finland
Finnish Women´s Association Unioni (Naisasialiitto Unioni ry), Finland
Fondazione Pangea, Italy
Foundation for Women and Family Planning FEDERA, Poland
Frauenvolksbegehren 2.0 – Verein für Frauen*- und Gleichstellungspolitik in Österreich, Austria
Fundació Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spain
Gunda-Werner-Institute, Heinrich Boell Foundation, Germany
Humanists Malta
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), Hungary
Iele-Sânziene Association, Romania
ILGA-Europe
Institute 8th of March, Slovenia
Institute for the Culture of Diversity Open, Slovenia
International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion
International Commission of Jurists
International Confederation of Midwives, Netherlands
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Planned Parenthood Federation – European Network (IPPF EN)
Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), Ireland
Konsent, z.s, Czech Republic
Laboratorio Lapsus, Italy
Lawyers for Choice Malta
LevFem, Buglaria
Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights, Lithuania
Médecins du Monde International Network
Men Against Violence Malta
MGRM – Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement, Malta
Mouvement français pour le Planning Familial – association départementale des Alpes-Maritimes, France
Mouvement français pour le planning familial, France
Možnosť voľby (Freedom of Choice), Slovakia
Mulher Século XXI – Associação de Desenvolvimento e Apoio às Mulheres, Portugal
Mulheres à Obra, Portugal
NGO Feministeerium, Estonia
O’YES, Belgium
Österreichischer Frauenring, Austria
Österreichische Gesellschaft für Familienplanung (ÖGF), Austria
Oxfam France
Parents for Choice Malta
Period Think Tank Aps, Italy
Plan F ASBL, Belgium
Planning familial Aimer à l’ULB, Belgium
Planning Familial de Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium
Planning Familial d’Evere, Belgium
Planning Familial du Luxembourg
Planning Familial La Famille Heureuse de La Louvière, Belgium
Planning Rochefort ASBL, Belgium
Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights (PpDM), Portugal
Prisme, Belgium
Pro Choice Austria
pro familia Bundesverband, Germany
pro familia Landesverband Berlin, Germany
Reclaim the Power Association (Združenje za MOČ), Slovenia
Red Ecofeminista Ibérica e Iberoamericana, Spain
Rutgers, Netherlands
SIPS, Centre de Planning Familial, Belgium
Social Democratic Women in Finland
Social-Liberal Youth of Denmark
Society for Feminist Analyses AnA, Romania
Sofélia, Belgium
Soralia, Belgium
Stichting Samen naar de Kliniek, Netherlands
Stichting Vrije Keuze Coalitie, Netherlands
Submit, Netherlands
Suomalainen Naisliitto, Finland
Suomen Kätilöliitto – Finlands Barnmorskeförbund ry (Federation of Finnish Midwives), Finland
Supporting Abortions for Everyone – S.A.F.E.
Terre des Femmes e.V., Germany
The Brussels Binder, Belgium
The Feminist Club Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Romanian Midwives Association, Romania
The Society for Education on Contraception and Sexuality, Romania
Trasek ry, Finland
Uaar – Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti, Italy
UMAR – União de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta, Portugal
Väestöliitto, Finland
Verein 12 Wochen – Hebammenwissen bei frühem Schwangerschaftsverlust, Austria
Victoires Populaires, France
VIDAs Associação Portuguesa de Menopausa, Portugal
Voice For Choice Malta – L-Għażla Tagħna, Malta
Vrouwenraad vzw, Belgium
VULGAR Association, Romania
WHEN Equity Empowerment Change, Greece
WIDE – Entwicklungspolitisches Netzwerk für Frauenrechte und feministische Perspektiven, Austria
Wirksame Schutzzonen JETZT!, Austria
Women Act Greece
Women Against Violence Europe
Women’s Organisation of the Austrian Green Party, Austria
Women’s Rights Foundation, Malta
Women’s Circles, Slovakia
Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, Netherlands
Zaklada SOLIDARNA, Croatia