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

On 4 February, 170 civil society organisations from all 27 EU Member States issued an open letter calling on the European Commission to respond positively and decisively to the European Citizens’ Initiative My Voice, My Choice. Since then, additional organisations have endorsed the letter. The updated list of signatories is available below.

The signatories urge the Commission to commit to a concrete legislative proposal establishing EU financial support to ensure access to safe and legal abortion care within the EU, addressing persistent inequalities and cross-border barriers that continue to affect women’s health, rights, and dignity.

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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

Citoyennes Maintenant, France

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

Huisartsen Duivendrecht, Netherlands

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, Bulgaria

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

MSI Reproductive Choices, United Kingdom

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 la Free Clinic, 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 AMINVI – Red de Apoyo a la Mujer Inmigrante Victima de la Violencia de Género, Spain

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

The Women’s Front, Norway

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

The following European organisations active outside the EU also endorse this joint letter:

Abortion Talk, UK

Doctors for Choice UK

Real People Real Vision, Georgia

Reproductive Health Training Center, Moldova

Roma Women’s Right Initiative, North Macedonia

Sarajevo Open Centre, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Women and Modern World Social Charitable Center (CWMW), Azerbaijan

Women’s Resource Center, Armenia

Ženski Lobi Slovenije, Slovenia

#NousToutes, France