What 1.2 million Europeans are demanding (and why I care a lot)
24 April 2025
When I was in an abortion clinic in Utrecht in 2021, I didn't hear any Dutch. The nurse spoke six languages, as all the patients were from other countries: Poland, Italy, Austria, and others. These women had to cross European borders for basic healthcare.
Living in Malta, I know what it's like. We have one of the strictest abortion bans in the world. Abortion is illegal, even in cases of rape, health risks, or your life being at risk (unless three doctors sign). At least two women are currently under investigation for taking abortion pills.
One story I've covered that still haunts me is of a girl who was raped at 17. She thought she couldn't see a gynaecologist without her parents. She bled alone, tried to self-induce, and starved herself, hoping not to ovulate. Her story is just one of many: annually, 600 abortion pills are ordered to Malta, while an estimated 400 women travel abroad.
Millions of women in Europe do not have access to safe abortion. Now, the European Citizens' Initiative 'My Voice, My Choice' aims to end that. It demands that the EU financially supports countries providing abortions, and reimburse those forced to travel.
The aim is to ensure that reproductive rights are not determined by where someone happens to live, but guaranteed throughout the Union. Over 1.2 million people across the EU signed My Voice, My Choice, surpassing the required thresholds in 18 countries.
The next phase moves from grassroots to institutional. The organisers will now present their demands to the European Commission and the European Parliament: to establish a solidarity mechanism that ensures access to abortion is not a privilege of geography.
 | Belle de Jong When campaign founder Nika Kovač asked me to help get 4,230 signatures in Malta, I thought: there's no way we're getting even half of that. But with hard work and a lot of backlash, we got more than 3,200 people to sign in the most Catholic and restrictive country in the EU. Reaching the EU threshold of 1 million signatures does not guarantee success. In fact, none of the 11 successful European Citizens' Initiatives so far have led to legislative change. It's uncertain whether this one will. But even before reaching the institutions, this campaign created a movement. While we see women's rights and the rule of law backsliding, people who were once too scared to speak up are now organising, signing, and standing up for their rights. More often than not, that's how real change happens. |
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