Europe: All Work
To explore more topics, search our full site.
Germany Faces Growing Pressure to Reform its Outdated Abortion Law
New law proposed by German organizations and experts builds on recommendations from a government-appointed expert commission.
10 Ways the EU is Driving Progress on Gender Equality and SRHR
The European Union’s recent five-year term made strides to increase access to maternal health care, contraception and abortion services; reduce gender-based violence; and enhance gender equality.
Fact Sheet: CEDAW Inquiry into Poland’s Abortion Law (English and Polish)
Available in English and Polish, this fact sheet assesses human rights violations caused by Poland’s abortion law.
Policy Brief: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the European Union
The European Union is founded on the core values of human rights, rule of law, and gender equality, but these values can only be fully realized when sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are [...]
New UN Report: Polish Abortion Law Violates Human Rights
A comprehensive investigation reveals the devastating consequences of Poland's restrictive abortion law on women's health and bodily autonomy, requiring urgent legal reform.
UN Committee Finds that Polish Abortion Law is Causing Grave and Systematic Human Rights Violations
The Committee calls on Poland to legalize and decriminalize abortion in order to bring an end to severe suffering.
Komitet ONZ stwierdza, że polskie prawo aborcyjne powoduje poważne i ciągłe naruszenia praw człowieka
Komitet wzywa Polskę do legalizacji i dekryminalizacji aborcji, aby położyć kres cierpieniu kobiet
CEDAW Poland Report Media Kit
Media kit about the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Inquiry on Poland’s abortion law, issued in August, 2024.
Olympics-host France Leads on Liberalizing Abortion
2024 is not only the year France hosts the Summer Olympics but it also marks the year the country became the first ever to explicitly protect abortion in its constitution.
Statement by the Center for Reproductive Rights on the Polish Parliament’s Failure to Pass Landmark Abortion Decriminalization Bill
Warsaw, 12 July 2024—Poland's lower house of parliament, the Sejm, failed today to pass draft legislation to decriminalize abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and later under certain conditions. This decision occurred despite [...]
Joint Statement Calling on Incoming EU Leadership to Prioritise Equality and Non-Discrimination
Paving the Way for an Equality-Centred Policy Cycle Brussels, 11 July 2024—The European Union was founded on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Yet too many people continue to face discrimination and inequality across the [...]
Poland’s Parliamentary Commission Recommends Decriminalization of Abortion
Recommendation marks a significant step toward reforming Poland's highly restrictive abortion policies.
Poland’s Parliamentary Commission Recommends Decriminalization of Abortion
GENEVA, 25.06.2024 – The Center for Reproductive Rights welcomes today’s landmark recommendation by a Polish parliamentary commission in favour of the decriminalization of abortion in Poland. This recommendation signals an important first step in efforts [...]
Expert Panel Calls on Germany to Legalize Abortion in First 12 Weeks
The New York Times
In this New York Times piece, the Center's Adriana Lamačkova comments on German abortion laws and the need for reform.
German Expert Commission Recommends Modernization of Abortion Law
GENEVA, 15.04.2024 (PRESS RELEASE) – Today the Center for Reproductive Rights welcomed clear calls for major reform of German abortion law from the Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine. The Commission was tasked by [...]
France Becomes First Country to Guarantee a Constitutional Right to Abortion
Groundbreaking amendment was sparked by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling eliminating the right to abortion.
Refugees from Ukraine Still Cut Off from Reproductive Health Care Two Years into War
Center and partners advocate for the removal of barriers to sexual and reproductive health care for refugees from Ukraine in some parts of the EU.
EU institutions endorse new law guaranteeing access to sexual and reproductive health care for survivors of sexual violence
15.02.24 (STATEMENT) - The Center for Reproductive Rights welcomes the groundbreaking inclusion of legal guarantees for access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for survivors of sexual violence in new EU legislation on violence against women. [...]
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Europe: Progress and Challenges
This report from the Center for Reproductive Rights highlights SRHR concerns in Europe and is intended to assist Council of Europe member states with their ongoing efforts to improve the enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
2024-2029: Priorities for EU Action to Advance Gender Equality and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
The Center's report recommending actions by EU institutions to ensure continued progress on gender equality and SRHR.