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The debate and vote on the European Parliament’s Recommendation to the Council on the EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (INI) took place during the December 2024 plenary session in Strasbourg.
Even though a quarter of Members were not present, the Report received majority support, with 322 votes in favour, highlighting strong backing from progressives. Conservative groups voted against.
| Resolutions | Votes in favour / against / abstentions |
| REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council concerning the EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN CSW (text as a whole) | 322/163/46 |
| (1) remove the legal, financial, social and practical barriers and restrictions on access to safe and legal abortion worldwide; | 492/43/21 |
| (2) advocate firmly for the defence of sexual and reproductive health and rights as fundamental rights and fight against anti-choice networks; | 366/116/64 |
| (3) ensure that women and girls in all their diversity have information and access to affordable health services, including for sexual and reproductive health and rights, in line with international human rights and public health standards, including comprehensive age-appropriate and scientifically accurate sexuality and relationship education, access to contraception and emergency contraception, safe and legal abortion, respectful maternal healthcare and care-based health services | 328/178/28 |
| (4) ensure that women are protected from forced pregnancies and sex-selective or forced abortions, particularly in the context of ethnic cleansing practices, and that in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning, as mentioned in the Beijing Declaration | 356/157/36 |
| (5) take note of and implement the recommendations of the European Parliament’s resolution of 11 April 2024 on including the right to abortion in the EU Fundamental Rights Charter. | 319/183/45 |
SOURCE: European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights, by Yuliya Chervona, MEPs for Sexual and Reproductive Rights Secretariat, WorldPop Newsletter, 20 December 2024.
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Abortion rights initiative reaches one million signatures, prompting EU action
The Citizens’ Initiative “My voice, my choice,” calling for safe and accessible abortion in the European Union, has reached the necessary one million signatures for the EU Commission to issue a response. Led by the 8th of March Institute, a Slovenian non-profit organisation for gender equality, the initiative calls on the European Commission to propose concrete measures ensuring that all EU citizens, regardless of nationality or residence, have access to safe and legal abortion services.
The one million signatures gathered compel the European Commission to respond to the initiative in a communication formally adopted by the College of Commissioners and decide whether to take any action. The initiative not only secured the signatures from across the bloc but also exceeded the required threshold in 15 countries, more than double the necessary seven.
“We clearly demonstrated that the right to freely decide about childbirth is a shared value across Europe,” said Nika Kovač, the campaign coordinator, in a press release.
Last April, the Parliament voted in favour of including access to abortion in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, an initiative widely backed by the chamber. However, the vote was mostly symbolic, as the resolution is non-binding, and enshrining a full-fledged right to abortion access would require the unanimous backing of all 27 member states to be included in the EU’s charter.
SOURCE: Euronews, by Marta Iraola Iribarren, 24 December 2024.
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MEPs demand answers over EU funding of anti-abortion charity
Members of the European Parliament from Poland, Germany, Sweden and Slovakia expressed concern after openDemocracy revealed earlier in 2024 that the EU gave €1.2m to a group called the World Youth Alliance (WYA), a US-based anti-abortion organisation that spreads disinformation about abortion.
They urged the European Commission to “commit to reviewing and potentially halting EU funding for groups that oppose reproductive freedom”.
SOURCE: Open Democracy, by Sian Norris, 19 December 2024.