In Hungary, a woman who wishes to terminate her pregnancy is obliged to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus before making any decision. In Poland, unless her life is in danger or she has been sexually assaulted, she is directly denied that right. On the other hand, in Malta, abortion is only allowed in extreme cases where the mother's life is at risk, with no exceptions even in cases of rape.
Although the latest reform of the law on sexual and reproductive rights in Spain allows free abortion until week 14, many women still encounter obstacles to having an abortion in our country and are forced to travel to other communities or even to other countries such as France. The legalization of abortion does not guarantee its accessibility. In fact, only 17% of abortions were performed in public centers in 2022, with notable disparities between autonomous communities.
In total, more than 20 million women do not have access to abortion in the European Union. For this reason, feminist activists and organizations from the 27 have joined together to obtain at least one million signatures necessary to support the European citizen initiative “My voice, my choice” (“My voice, my decision” in Spain), a proposal that seeks to protect the right to safe, free and accessible abortion throughout the EU. Any citizen of the Union can support the initiative through this link before the European elections.
Its objective is to guarantee the creation of a fund by the European Commission that provides financial assistance to those people who cannot have an abortion due to economic or political reasons, or due to their administrative situation. In this way, any woman who does not have access to a safe and legal abortion can access it in one of the countries where it is guaranteed.
“We need actions to prevent women from dying in hospitals, seeking unsafe alternatives that put their health at risk, or facing financial barriers that limit their right to choose,” denounces Nika Kovac, promoter of the movement and director of the 8 Marzo Institute. Slovenia.
Activist Kika Fumero, coordinator of “My voice, my decision” in Spain and former director of the Canary Islands Institute for Equality, highlights five types of situations in which this fund would favor reproductive autonomy and avoid “submission to forced and unwanted motherhood.” . First of all, in countries like Poland or Malta, where voluntary interruption is restricted or prohibited. Secondly, in countries where abortion is legal, but not free, such as Austria and Germany. A third scenario would be in those countries like Italy where, despite being legal, women face barriers to accessing it, mainly due to conscientious objection by medical personnel.
The campaign also puts the spotlight on women from vulnerable and marginalized communities across the EU. Alice Coffin, coordinator of “Ma voix, mon choix” in France and member of the Paris Council, recalls that “many women are raped on their migratory journey” and, due to their vulnerability, it is “very difficult” for them to access abortion. “One of the main shared fears, evidently, is the fear of being repatriated or deported. Others access public health centers and tell us how they are denied abortion because they do not have insurance or regular documentation,” adds Fumero.
Finally, the initiative also aims to protect access to abortion for women at a more advanced stage of gestation than permitted in their country, since each state has its own period, which varies from 10 weeks (Portugal, Croatia and Slovenia) to 24 weeks (Netherlands).
France achieved a historic milestone on March 4 by guaranteeing abortion in its Constitution, making it very difficult for a Government to declare it illegal in the future. “The night Congress voted, a giant screen was installed in front of the Eiffel Tower. The vote was held as if we were in a football stadium. It is very important to show that feminists also achieve victories, especially at a time when the advance of the extreme right is predicted,” says Alice Coffin.
The French initiative protects, in its article 34, the “guaranteed freedom of women to resort to voluntary interruption of pregnancy.” Although there were other countries that already introduced it in their Magna Carta, but not explicitly. Slovenia inherited 50 years ago from Yugoslavia the “human right to decide freely about the birth of children,” included in the 1974 Constitution. After its independence, Slovenia preserved the right in its article 55 to this day.
Precisely, the long journey in terms of sexual and reproductive rights has led Slovenian women to start the “My voice, my choice” campaign throughout Europe. “Institutions were not leveraging their power to improve access to safe healthcare. Our motivation intensified as we watched the rollback of reproductive rights in the US.” In 2022, the Supreme Court annulled the historic ruling known as 'Roe v. Wade', which since 1973 guaranteed the right to abortion in the country. Today, 14 states prohibit abortion.
With its million signatures, “My voice, my decision” seeks for the next legislature to confront the political advance of far-right parties in Europe, such as National Regrouping (RN), in France; Alternative for Germany (AfD), in Germany, and Brothers of Italy, in Italy, among others, who strongly oppose reproductive rights.
The advance of the extreme right is “as significant as it is worrying” for the Spanish Kika Fumero. An example that the activist exposes is that of Italy. “Giorgia Meloni's rise to power has allowed anti-abortion groups to have access to clinics where voluntary termination of pregnancy is carried out, to finance said groups with public money or to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus.” Aside from these obstacles, more than 60% of gynecologists are conscientious objectors.
Fumero also points out the situation in Germany, where women are still subjected to three days of reflection and it is “very difficult” to find centers with professionals who perform abortion. In addition to the cost, which ranges between 300 and 600 euros, public insurance only covers two cases: for health reasons or sexual assault.
Although in Spain there is a “very good” law on sexual and reproductive rights, according to Kika Fumero, there are still barriers to accessing abortion. In 2022, communities such as Aragón, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Murcia did not report any interruptions from their hospitals, forcing hundreds of women to travel to other places.
The powers in matters of Health are transferred to each community, who are also responsible for providing the list of conscientious objectors in public health, as was included in the reform. These lists still have not arrived a year later. The lack of this information makes it difficult to reorganize health services to guarantee the availability of professionals.
“Attacks on the right to abortion have increased since the extreme right began to take power in local, provincial and regional governments.” The Constitutional Court ruled last year against the Region of Murcia, which referred a woman to a private center in Madrid for an abortion under the argument of not having doctors willing to perform it.
Meanwhile, Poland's Constitutional Court declared abortion illegal in 2020, except in two situations: when the mother's life is in danger or she has been a victim of rape. The ruling eliminated the possibility of terminating pregnancy even in cases of fetal malformation, considering it unconstitutional. 90% of the approximately 1,000 abortions annually in the country were performed for this reason.
Both the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission declared that the Polish Constitutional Court did not meet the requirements of independence and impartiality, due to control by judges related to the ultra-conservative Law and Justice party (PiS).
In addition, it is a crime to provide assistance, induce or force an abortion. “These laws make it difficult for women with unwanted pregnancies to find support, and the fear of being accused of complicity makes them avoid involving their close circle in the process,” say Zofia Rozanska and Anna Palucha, activists from the Polish organization Wschod.
The ban causes many gynecologists to be out of date with the most innovative and safest methods to perform the procedure. “In the last 30 years, no doctor has been convicted of performing an abortion, but professionals are afraid of terminating pregnancies and massively abuse conscientious objection. Their indifference and lack of concern for the lives of patients has caused the death of many women,” they denounce.
The delivery of one million signatures before the European elections on June 9 is “critical”, since Europe is at a “crossroads”. “This initiative is not just about gathering support, but it is a strategic movement to make reproductive rights a priority on the political agenda of the next European Parliament and Commission,” details the Slovenian Nika Kovac, promoter of the movement.
If the initiative reaches one million signatures, the European Commission has a period of up to six months to respond through a detailed statement with its conclusions and measures to be adopted. “The chances of success depend solely on who will sit in Parliament and who will be the president of the Commission. “That's why we want voters to keep reproductive rights in mind when they vote in June.”
The activists send a message to all women to remind them that “they are not alone,” because “their struggles are also ours.” “We are mobilizing so that no one is left behind. Many do not have a vote in this campaign (European citizenship is required as a formal requirement), but they do have a voice and a very powerful political discourse from which we have a lot to learn. It is time to react and mobilize strategically. Our lives depend on it,” says Kika Fumero.
