The European Parliament has backed a call for EU countries to ensure affordable, secure access to contraceptive and abortion-related medicines under the Critical Medicines Act. We urge lawmakers to ensure this commitment is retained in the final text.
Jersey is considering abortion law reform that would remove the requirement to prove distress and extend access without special justification up to 22 weeks. This aligns with @who.int guidance, which calls for removing regulatory barriers that delay abortion care.
The EU Commission has set out a pathway to support abortion access following the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative, clarifying for the first time that existing EU funds may be used to address barriers to care. Clear operational guidance is now needed to turn this into real access.
In Europe, demographic decline is increasingly invoked to justify rolling back abortion entitlements. A new report from @unfpa.org warns that simplistic or coercive responses to falling birth rates are ineffective and risk violating human rights. Real solutions centre reproductive agency.
In the last four years, Russia’s full-scale invasion of #Ukraine has killed thousands and displaced millions. Barriers to critical sexual and reproductive healthcare persist both in Ukraine and for many refugees across the EU, further compounding their trauma.
The expansion of the Global Gag Rule will have far-reaching consequences for access to essential health services worldwide. In Europe, it directly affects civil society and health systems, underscoring the EU’s responsibility to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights.
In just a few weeks, @ec.europa.eu will issue its decision on the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative, which calls for measures to support safe & accessible abortion across the EU. We are proud to support this important initiative.
📣 Call for input: @who.int is seeking grey literature and expert contributions on how abortion care information is included in comprehensive sex education for young people, with input welcomed from across regions and contexts.
Proud to have led this joint effort calling on @ec.europa.eu to act on the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative to ensure safe & accessible abortion across the EU. The Commission has the legal competence, democratic mandate and responsibility to act.
More than 1 million citizens. A majority of the European Parliament. And now, civil society across the EU.
The message is clear: @ec.europa.eu must act on #MyVoiceMyChoice and propose a voluntary EU-level financial mechanism to support access to safe, legal abortion care.
@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu
📣 Civil society groups from across the EU are calling on @ec.europa.eu to act on the #MyVoiceMyChoice ECI.
The ask is clear: a voluntary EU-level financial mechanism that supports access to safe, legal abortion care.
@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @roxanaminzatu.bsky.social @hadjalahbib.bsky.social
🆕 research examines @echr.coe.int cases on denied access to sexual and reproductive health services since 1976. The analysis shows that recurring human rights violations have contributed to persistent gaps between legal protections and effective access to care across Europe.
Encouraging news from #Malta, one of the few European countries with highly restrictive #abortion laws, reflecting growing recognition of the harm caused by penalising women who seek essential healthcare. Ultimately, the @who.int recommends the full decriminalisation of abortion.
For an in-depth analysis of abortion laws across Europe, see our report ‘Europe Abortion Laws 2025: Policies, Progress and Challenges’, which examines current policies, progress and remaining challenges 👇
📜 Constitutional protection of abortion rights:
Following France’s landmark 2024 decision to constitutionally protect abortion access, similar initiatives are being debated or advanced in #Luxembourg, #Spain and #Sweden.
#Abortion reforms completed in 2025 (Pt.2):
✅ #Luxembourg: Abolished the mandatory 3-day waiting period.
✅ #Faroe Islands: Legalised abortion on request up to 12 weeks, ending one of Europe’s restrictive laws.
✅ #Switzerland: Made abortion care fully free of charge.
#Abortion reforms completed in 2025 (Pt.1):
✅ #Denmark & #Norway: Extended abortion on request to 18 weeks and removed parental consent requirements for some minors.
✅ #Netherlands: Enabled access to medication abortion through general practitioners.
2025 reaffirmed the progressive abortion law reform trend in #Europe, as legal and policy initiatives continued to strengthen and expand access to #abortion care across the continent. Here’s the breakdown 👇
🎉 Good news from Luxembourg: The Parliament’s Institutional Affairs Committee has advanced a proposal to enshrine access to #abortion in the Constitution, following backing from the State Council. A plenary vote is expected in early March.
An interesting analysis from @emmapirnay.bsky.social at @euractiv.com examining the growing web of anti-abortion influence in Brussels, including insights from our Legal Advisor Camille Gervais.
Access to clear, accurate information about essential healthcare, including #abortion, is a core component of the right to health, as recognised by the @who.int and UN human rights standards. Restricting access to this information can have serious implications for public health.
A Paris court has ruled that, until February 2025, the French state failed to implement legally required sexuality education in schools. The decision illustrates persistent gaps in delivering comprehensive sexual health education across Europe.
A 🆕 @who.int report shows how health systems across Europe are failing survivors of gender-based violence, leaving millions without access to essential care, including the clinical management of rape. Many still fall short of WHO guidelines for treating women & girls after experiencing violence.
#Denmark has agreed to compensate Greenlandic women and girls who were subjected to involuntary birth control between 1966-1991, when thousands were fitted with IUDs without consent. This marks an important step towards justice, recognition and reparations for survivors.
The @who.int has released its first global guideline on #infertility, offering 40 recommendations to make care safer and more affordable and urging countries to expand access to evidence-based services through their health systems. Infertility affects millions across Europe.
A King's College London study found that #COVID19 worsened #abortion access in #Poland, as lockdowns increased stigma, isolation & risks of intimate partner violence. The near-total abortion ban, resulting from the October 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling, further restricted access to care.
Women across Europe still endure obstetric violence, from non-consensual interventions to denial of privacy, decision-making and respectful care. @who.int standards call for dignified, woman-centered childbirth, including privacy, informed consent, continuous support and freedom from mistreatment.
Across #Europe, 43 of 49 countries now allow #abortion on request during early pregnancy.
In the past decade, 20 countries have reformed laws to dismantle harmful barriers and improve access.
Learn more 👇
Reproductive rights are human rights.
Everyone, everywhere, has the right to control their own body, access reproductive healthcare, and live free from discrimination, coercion and violence.
#GenderEquality cannot be achieved without #SRHR. Women in Europe must have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, without stigma, barriers or discrimination.
This includes:
💊 Contraception
🩺 Abortion
🧬 Assisted Reproduction
🤰 Maternal Care
