On March 4th, 2024, France became the first country in the World to enshrine the Right to Abortion in its Constitution, after a historical vote in its Congress, following years of feminist struggles. On March 6th, 2024, inspired by this victory, eight feminist EU organisations launched the “My Voice, My Choice” movement, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with the goal to make abortions safe and reachable in the whole of Europe. This coalition now unites over a hundred feminist associations across the EU.
To this day, sexual and reproductive rights, and especially the right to abortion, are constantly under attack, including within the European Union, where over 20 million women do not have access to abortion. The practice is illegal in most cases in Poland and Malta, severely restricted in Hungary, impeded in practice in Italy, and still penalised in Germany… In Sweden, abortions are permitted up to the 18th week, as will soon be the case in Denmark. These strong regional disparities show that the women’s right to control their own bodies still depends strongly on their country of origins, and the political colour of their government.
GROW gives its unconditional support to the “My Voice, My Choice” movement and encourages people to sign its European Citizens’ Initiative, which proposes that the EU adopt legislation that would create a financial mechanism to help Member States provide a safe abortion option for all that do not have access to it. This Initiative, which has now been lodged with the European Commission, must now collect 1 million signatures, before the European Parliament can decide upon this crucial issue.
To sign the petition: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/044/public/#/screen/home
To learn more about the movement “My Voice, My Choice”: https://www.myvoice-mychoice.org/
Just for a little correction: France was not the first country in the World to enshrine the Right to Abortion in its Constitution; the first was Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia 50 years earlier, in 1974. As you can read on the pages of The Peace Institute NGO from Ljubljana:
“The Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia as the first country in the world inscribed this right in its Constitution. … Thus, in 1974, the following text was enacted by the Yugoslav Federal Assembly: »It is the right of every person to freely decide whether to bear children. This right can only be limited due to health reasons.« However, only in the Constitution of the Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Slovenia, this right was made more concrete in the same year with the words: »To exercise this right, society shall ensure the necessary education, appropriate social protection and medical help in compliance with the law.«
You can read more on the topic here: https://reproduktivne-pravice.mirovni-institut.si/en/the-right-to-abortion/