EU fund will help residents to access safe abortions

The European Commission has confirmed that residents in EU countries with a near-total abortion ban can use a fund to access safe and legal abortions in other EU countries.

EU confirms fund for safe abortion access

The European Commission has confirmed that EU countries can use money from an existing social fund to help residents living in EU countries with near-total abortion bans to safely and legally terminate their pregnancy in another EU state.

The policy announcement is the result of a EU citizens’ initiative, My Voice, My Choice, which successfully gathered 1,2 million valid signatures across all 27 EU states. While the EU has not changed any abortion laws, it confirmed that the existing fund can be used for this purpose.

Abortion is legal in most EU countries, but there is a near-total ban in some member states, such as Poland and Malta. While abortion has been legal in Italy since 1978, safe abortions can be very difficult to access in some regions.

With the new fund, a woman living in Poland, for example, would be able to travel to France to have an abortion. The French government could draw on the existing fund to cover the woman’s transport, accommodation and healthcare.

500.000 unsafe abortions in Europe every year

EU Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib said the decision “would change lives” and help reduce the number of abortions carried out. According to Lahbib, around 500.000 unsafe abortions take place across Europe every year. 

“This is half a million women at risk, half a million women traumatised, half a million women who may carry lifelong consequences, and this is half a million too many,” the commissioner said.

Nika Kovač of My Voice, My Choice said the decision was “a victory for women in Europe” and that the EU Commission should now give countries explicit guidelines on how the funds can be used.

Legal access to abortion is precarious in Germany

While people living in Germany can access safe and legal abortions, the country’s Nazi-era Paragraph 218 means that access remains precarious.

Currently, abortion is only legal in specific circumstances; if it can be proven that carrying to term would be life-threatening for the mother or if the pregnancy is a result of rape. 

German residents who meet these criteria must undergo compulsory counselling with a state-recognised body. Once these boxes have been ticked, an abortion can be carried out legally, but only within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

If abortion-seekers do not meet these requirements, a termination is tolerated - but not technically legal - following a counselling consultation and before the 12th week of pregnancy. 

According to pro familia, 96,4 percent of abortions in Germany are carried out according to these regulations. Critics argue that under the current circumstances, access to a safe abortion is precariously dependent on the political mood.

In 2024, a commission appointed by Olaf Scholz’s coalition government concluded that abortion before 12 weeks should be legalised in Germany, bringing the federal republic’s law into line with international standards, but there has been little further development.

A poll conducted by the expert commission found that 62,2 percent of the German population would be in favour of legalising abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy.