The executive of the European Union will not create a new fund as requested by the latest pro-abortion initiative, but encourages the use of money already available from the European Social Fund.
“It is not necessary to propose a new legal instrument”, said the Commission, because the EU already has the European Social Fund (ESF+), a fund of €142.7 billion to be used until 2027, which “aims to reduce health inequalities, and ensure that vulnerable people have access to essential health services”.
In December, a citizen's initiative with 1.1 million signatures of citizens in several countries to make abortion more accesible arrived in the European Parliament. The ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative was backed by the European Parliament by 358 votes to 202, with 79 abstentions.
The initiative asked the EU to “set up a voluntary, opt-in financial scheme” to financilly support women who cannot legaly put an end to pregnancy in their home country, and end up choosing to travel to another EU member state where abortions laws are more permissive.
But the 'no' to a new pro-abortion fund does not mean that access to European Union money is closed. The Commission announced “that it is possible to use EU funds to support Member States' efforts for better access to safe and legal abortion care and thereby reduce the number of unsafe abortions”, said Commission vice president Roxana Minzatu in a press conference.
“We are putting the tools on the table. Now it is for Member States to use them”, added EU’s equality commissioner, Hadja Lahbib. She clarified: “This means support for women who need to travel; support for women in their own country; support for women in remote areas; support for women without financial means, any vulnerable woman, anywhere in Europe”.
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The ESF+ is a very large fund offered to countries to support a large spectrum of policties. Therefore, “any financing mechanism must remain fully neutral” and cannot “specifically target women coming from member states where the abortion in question would not be legally possible”.
Pro-choice pressure from parliamentarians and governments
The groups working to make abortion accessible throghout Europe said they were happy with the decision.
Nika Kovač, coordinator of the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ campaign, welcomed the decision, calling it “a victory for women in Europe”. “For the first time, the Commission confirms that EU funds can be used to guarantee access to safe abortion care, particularly for women in vulnerable situations, regardless of where they come from in Europe. This is not symbolic. It is a political commitment to women's right”, she said.
Some days before the European Commission declararation, a group of 105 MEPs sent a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, stating that, if the Commission “decides not to pursue the objectives of this initiative or fails to follow up with concrete measures”, they would “examine further political and legal avenues to ensure that the expressed will of European citizens is duly respected”.
On the same day, the prime ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden urged von der Leyen to “take steps to define how ‘My Voice, My Choice’ could be implemented in practice”.
Christian MEPs: “We must stand with pregnant women in difficult situations”
Among those who are disappointed by the European Commission’s response to the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative is Valeriu Ghilețchi, president of the European Christian Political Party (ECPP).
“Abortion is not a competence of the European Union. By opening the door to the use of existing EU funds, the Commission is stretching its mandate and disregarding the clear division of competences laid down in the Treaties”, he denounced.
Tweet This: “We must stand with pregnant women in difficult situations” - Christian Members of European Parliament
For ECPP MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, “the ESF+ was not intended to finance abortion services. Rather than choosing to end life, we must stand with pregnant women in difficult situations and support them. Life is God-given, and we have a responsibility to protect it”.
Editor's note: This article was published by Evangelical Focus and is reprinted with permission.
