Doctors, MEPs call for safer access to abortion in the EU

EU parliamentarians and women’s health experts are calling to guarantee the right to safe abortions across the EU, stressing that sexual and reproductive health is a fundamental human right.

Experts and MEPs discussed women’s reproductive and sexual health and access to abortion in the European Union on Tuesday (September 19) in the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM).

“Many women do that illegally in a dangerous way,” said Polish MEP Robert Biedroń from S&D, president of the FEMM committee, ahead of the International Safe Abortion Day coming up on 28 September.

Within the EU, there is no common legislation on the right to abortion; each country decides its own policy on the subject.

In Spain and France, since March 2, 2022, it has been possible to have an abortion up to 14 weeks. In Sweden, the period is 18 weeks, in the Netherlands 22 weeks and in the UK 24 weeks. In Malta, abortion is totally forbidden and in Poland, there is almost a total ban.

“This right must be guaranteed. Not all women are on an equal footing in Europe,” said Italian MEP Isabella Adinolfi from the European People’s Party (EPP).

But even in EU countries where abortion is permitted, access to safe and simple care is not always easy.

In Spain, 13% of teenagers who have an abortion do so between the ninth and thirteenth week of pregnancy. “This is very late”, said gynaecologist and founder of the AlmabyWomen association Laia Sanchez during the discussions, slamming the lack of access to information and the absence of sexual and reproductive health courses.

For European citizens to better protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases and avoid unwanted pregnancies, understanding sexual and reproductive health is key.

“You need to have informed sexual relations,” Sanchez said, noting that clandestine abortions – those performed illegally by unlicensed operators – can lead to fertility disorders, mental health problems and, in the most serious cases, death.

According to NGO Médecins du Monde, one woman dies every nine minutes from an illegal abortion.

Poland’s de facto abortion ban risks lives, says MEP

While technically allowed in some cases, abortion in Poland may as well be forbidden, putting women’s lives at risk, said Robert Biedron, EU lawmaker and leader of the Polish opposition party Nova Lewika on Thursday (17 November).

Access is restricted in the USA and Europe

In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it was revoking the constitutional right to abortion – mandated under Roe v. Wade – leaving it up to each state to decide whether or not to maintain this right.

Since then, 13 states have announced total bans on abortion, including Utah, South Dakota, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The right to abortion is also declining in some European countries, warned the experts present at the FEMM Commission meeting.

In 2000, Hungary restricted access to abortion by imposing a mandatory waiting and reflection period, that in some cases could result in postponement past the legal deadline – making abortion impossible. Since last year, women wishing to have an abortion have been required to listen to the fetal heartbeat during an ultrasound scan.

Slovakia also introduced a mandatory waiting period in 2009, and in 2018, 20 draft restrictive legislations were presented by anti-abortion parliamentarians. All were rejected, but by a very slim majority, Camille Gervais from the Center for Reproductive Rights told MEPs.

Roe v. Wade: the ripple effect in Europe

As the US Supreme Court rolled back reproductive rights for women across the country in a decision that shocked the world, the fallout has sparked reactions in Europe, including protests, calls for more reproductive freedom, and even enshrining the right to abortion in constitutions.

Persecution in Poland

Poland has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe regarding abortion after a 2020 ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court allowing access only to abortion in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.

Poland’s government is targeting people for alleged abortion-related activities, intensifying a climate of fear that heightens risks for women and girls, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a press release published on Thursday (14 September).

“Polish authorities’ ruthless pursuit of people trying to get or provide basic health care can only be described as a witch hunt,” said Hillary Margolis, senior women’s rights researcher at HRW. “The government is misusing police and courts to advance its anti-rights agenda, taking its abusive policies into private homes, hospital rooms, and doctors’ offices.”

Since January 2021, at least six women are known to have died after doctors did not terminate their pregnancies despite complications that posed a danger to their health or lives, which remain legal grounds for abortion in Poland, the HRW press release found.

“Sexual and reproductive health and rights are fundamental human rights. It’s not a question of ideology, it’s a health issue. I call on the Council and the European Commission to adopt European standards that are the same for all,” Croatian MEP Predrag Fred Matić from S&D told those in Parliament.