Many people assume everything is OK with abortion in Europe. And it’s true that most of the countries in the region have very good laws and services compared to the rest of the world and that much has improved over the last years with strong national advocacy campaigns, feminist-run clinics, and active support from a long list of political parties, human rights bodies and the World Health Organization.
But we still have a long way to go to make abortions universally accessible to everyone who seeks them. In many of our countries, even those with good laws on paper, access in practice is far from perfect, and making change happen is a slow process. We are going through a period where anti-rights movements are posing a serious threat to abortion access across the region.
Most European countries allow abortion on request in the first 12-14 weeks of pregnancy – although not without any regulatory, practical or medically unnecessary obstacles. Access to second and especially third trimester abortions, however, can be very limited and hemmed in with conditions, restrictions and requiring third party approval (doctors, parents), even though later abortions are so few and needed i n the most desperate of situations.
In a number of countries, abortion is still in the penal code, which permits legal systems to prosecute individuals for having or providing abortions, and also adds to stigma and discrimination. Moreover, there are still countries where most or all abortions are illegal, including Malta, Andorra and Poland, and where women are compelled to seek abortions outside the law – especially the growing numbers using pills but not under a clinician’s control. Women having abortions, and advocates for abortion rights are being prosecuted too, in Poland, Andorra, Malta and England.
Almost invisibly, across the whole panorama of legal and clinical restrictions, thousands of women are still having to travel within and between countries to get abortions, often supported by under-resourced grassroots organisations and collectives instead of being supported by the State.
Call for Action
Here are some of the most important legal and service-related changes and improvements we are calling for and will campaign for in our countries and across the region going forward:
– Complete decriminalisation of abortion in all countries, both as a harm reduction strategy to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity but also to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights, bodily autonomy and voluntary motherhood.
– Universal access to safe, legal abortions, as early as possible and for as long as needed, with choice of method.
– Self-managed abortion with pills up to 12 weeks should be allowed in all countries as recommended by the World Health Organization.
– Approval of combined medical abortion pills, and approval of misoprostol as an abortifacient, in all countries. Medical abortion pills are a very safe method, not only in the first trimester but also for later abortion, and are on the WHO Essential Medicines List.
– All countries should implement the 2022 World Health Organization Abortion Care guidelines including training for the range of health care providers, including pharmacists, who can provide services.
– Increase access to abortion beyond 12 weeks through training and education for midwives, nurses and doctors.
– Policies must be gender inclusive, that is, applying to women, girls and all people who can become pregnant and who seek an abortion.
Signatories
RFSU
Ciocia Czesia
Planning Familial, France
Abortion Rights Scotland
Population Services International (PSI)– Europe
VSO
Front Association Romania
Doctors for Choice (Malta)
Fundația Corona, Romania
IPAS
Asociația Ecovas, Romania
IPPF EN
Asociatia UNIC
IFPA
Iele-Sânziene Association
DSW
CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality
SAAF
Plan International Netherlands
Abortion Network Amsterdam
British Society of Abortion Care Providers
SEXUAL HEALTH SWITZERLAND
Medicins de Monde
Sex og Politikk/IPPF Norway
Pro familia Bundesverband
Amnesty International
Associació Stop Violències
Society for Feminist Analyses Romania
Doctors for Choice UK
SEX vs the STORK Association /(SEXUL vs BARZA) Romania
Abortion Talk
Romanian Women’s Lobby Association
The Society for Education on Contraception and Sexuality, Romania
Women Help Women
MSI Reproductive Choices
Independent Midwives Association, Romania
Supporting Abortions for Everyone – SAFE
Center for Mediation and Community
Safety Foundation Romania
Rutgers
Plural Association, Romania
Austrian Family Planning Association (OGF)
Sex og Samfund, Danish Family Planning Association
FLCPF
International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion