Date: 14. November 2025
Time to read: 1 min
At its plenary session, the European Parliament included the My Voice, My Choice initiative for the right to safe and accessible abortion in its report on the Gender Equality Strategy for 2026–2030. Nika Kovač, coordinator of the initiative from the 8 March Institute, sees the Parliament’s decision not merely as symbolic, but as an unequivocal endorsement of their campaign.
According to her, the European Parliament is instructing the European Commission to fulfil the demands of the My Voice, My Choice campaign—namely, the establishment of a European financial mechanism that would enable women from countries where abortion is not accessible to obtain a safe procedure in countries where it is guaranteed. Participation of member states would be voluntary.
A Positive Signal for Upcoming Votes
Kovač believes the voting result shows a strong parliamentary majority that supports the freedom to decide about childbirth. She also sees it as an encouraging sign ahead of the European Parliament’s vote on a special resolution in support of the My Voice, My Choice demands, expected in December. The European Commission is anticipated to take a decision on the initiative in March next year.
According to the European Parliament, 310 MEPs supported the Gender Equality Strategy report, while 222 voted against it. A total of 359 MEPs voted in favour of including the My Voice, My Choice initiative in the report, Kovač noted.
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The 8 March Institute sees this decision as a clear endorsement of the campaign and an important step forward. Photo: My Voice, My Choice
One of the Largest Contemporary Feminist Movements in Europe
With the My Voice, My Choice initiative, the 8 March Institute stresses that more than 20 million women in Europe still lack access to safe abortion. They highlight that it is unacceptable that women in Poland are still dying because they cannot access the procedure, or are forced to travel thousands of kilometres or resort to dangerous alternatives because doctors refuse to perform abortions on the grounds of conscientious objection. They therefore call for concrete changes that would improve the lives of millions of women across the EU.
The My Voice, My Choice campaign began in April last year and has grown into one of the largest feminist movements in Europe. By June, they had already collected more than half a million signatures and surpassed the required minimum number of signatures in at least seven EU member states.
In total, they gathered more than 1.2 million signatures. Among the supporters in Slovenia are President Nataša Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob.
The European Commission accepted the My Voice, My Choice initiative for consideration on 1 September this year.
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More than 300 organisations and several thousand volunteers from across the EU are participating in the campaign. Photo: Črt Piksi
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To submit a European Citizens’ Initiative to the European Commission, organisers must collect one million signatures within a year and exceed the national signature threshold in at least seven member states. Photo: Črt Piksi
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The campaing has connected people all around Europe. Photo: My Voice, My Choice
