The European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed a European citizens' initiative calling for improved access to safe and legal abortion across the EU, backing a proposal to create a voluntary, EU-funded financial mechanism to support women who cannot access abortion care in their home countries.
The initiative was adopted on Wednesday by 358 votes to 202, with 79 abstentions.
Five Maltese MEPs either voted against or abstained. Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba voted against the proposal, alongside Nationalist MEPs David Casa and Peter Agius. The remaining two Labour MEPs, Daniel Attard and Thomas Bajada, abstained. As President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola does not take part in the voting process.
The endorsed text urges EU member states where legal or practical barriers to abortion persist to reform their laws and policies in line with international human rights standards. It also calls on the European Commission, in line with the My Voice, My Choice initiative, to establish an opt-in financial solidarity mechanism, supported by EU funds, that would allow participating member states to provide access to safe abortion care in accordance with their domestic laws.
Under the proposal, the mechanism would enable women from countries where abortion is banned or severely restricted - such as Malta - to obtain abortion services in another EU member state.
The My Voice, My Choice initiative was launched in April 2024 and gathered more than 1.2 million signatures across the EU, surpassing the threshold required for a European citizens' initiative. Supporters argue that ensuring safe access to abortion is essential to protect women from backsliding on sexual and reproductive rights across Europe.
However, the proposal has drawn criticism from some MEPs, who argue that abortion policy falls within national competence and that the initiative risks infringing on member states' sovereignty.
Following the vote, rapporteur Abir Al-Sahlani (Renew, Sweden) welcomed the outcome, describing it as a landmark moment for women's rights.
"This vote is a huge win for every woman in Europe," she said. "The EU has finally shown that sexual and reproductive healthcare is a basic human right. The citizens of the EU raised their voices and showed they care about women's lives, health and rights - and the European Parliament delivered."
She added that the initiative demonstrated the strength of EU democracy when citizens and institutions work together.
The European Commission now has until March 2026 to outline what action it intends to take, whether legislative or non-legislative, or to justify a decision not to proceed.
The European citizens' initiative is a participatory tool introduced under the Lisbon Treaty that allows EU citizens to invite the Commission to propose new legislation. To qualify, an initiative must receive at least one million signatures from a minimum of seven member states. Since its introduction, 13 initiatives have successfully met the threshold.
Organisers of My Voice, My Choice presented their case to MEPs during a public hearing in the European Parliament on 2 December 2025.