Abortion: European Parliament interfering in national jurisdictions ?
On 17th December 2025 the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the European Commission to organise abortions for women in another member State due to restrictions in their nation of residence.
Funding would be provided directly by the European Union and the member States on a voluntary basis. This resolution was elaborated in accordance with the European citizens’ initiative (ECI) “My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortions” launched by abortion-supporting associations who collected 1.1 million signatures. Any idea of providing support for pregnant women and abortion prevention was notably absent.
ECI is a tool which enables European Union citizens to call upon the Commission to propose a new legislative text if the initiative is able to obtain at least one million signatures from at least a quarter of the member States. The Commission must then, within six months from the date of validation of the ECI, specify the measures which it intends to take.
The States targeted by the activists at the origin of the movement were in particular Poland and Malta, which have restrictive laws on abortion. Those States nevertheless adopted their laws democratically like all the other European States which have adopted various legislations.
Absence of European jurisdiction
Alternative resolutions were proposed by several political groups, of which one was examined but did not achieve majority support, recalling that abortion does not come under European jurisdiction.
Indeed, according to Article 168 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, the Union has, in the public health domain, jurisdiction to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the member States. It is specified that “The action by the Union must be conducted in respect of the responsibilities of the member States regarding the definition of their health policies, as well as the organisation and supply of health services and medical care. The responsibilities of the member States include the management of health services and medical care, as well as allocation of the resources attributed to them“.
The absence of European Union jurisdiction regarding abortion has been confirmed on several occasions by the European institutions (European Parliament, European Commission and European Council). On 30th April 2012, John Dalli, the European Commissioner in charge of health, answered a question by MEPs (E-002933/2012):
“In view of the ethical, social and cultural aspects of abortion, it is the responsibility of the member States to elaborate and establish their own policies and legislation on the subject. The Commission does not intend to supplement national public health policies in that domain”.
Public health comes under the internal jurisdiction of the member States. The EU merely holds authority to provide support on the subject, enabling it to support the choices of the member States concerning:
- The improvement of public health;
- Information and education on health matters;
- The prevention of disease and the causes of dangers to physical and mental health;
- The fight against major plagues, encouraging research into their causes, their transmission and their prevention;
- Monitoring, warning and combating serious trans-frontier health threats;
- Reduction of the harmful effects of narcotics on public health.
The Commission has accepted a commitment to reply by 2nd March 2026 without however having any obligation to comply with such a type of injunction.
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