Opacity in European abortion data: countries without statistics and foreigners whose origins are unknown

The position of some European countries is reflected in the approach taken by the European Commission. Brussels’ stance on abortion has consistently been to respect the autonomy and competences of Member States. According to Articles 6 and 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), sexual and reproductive rights fall within national competence. Amending this framework to include such rights in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights would require the unanimous agreement of all Member States—a goal pursued by the My Voice, My Choice movement. However, achieving this appears increasingly challenging in the current legislative term. At least, that is the view of reproductive rights organisations consulted by Exporting Abortion, based on the new composition of the EU’s advisory and governing bodies.

In fact, concerns about how women’s rights will be handled by the new European Commission have been present since the distribution of portfolios in the new term. In the previous Commission—also presided over by conservative German Ursula von der Leyen—women’s reproductive rights were under the Directorate-General for Health, headed by Cypriot Christian Democrat Stella Kyriakides. Health collaborated on these matters with Maltese Socialist Helena Dalli, the EU’s first Commissioner for Equality.

In the new term, Health has been assigned to Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi, a close ally of Hungary’s ultra-conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Progressive concerns over his handling of equality issues led to a split in the Commission’s Health mandate. Responsibility for women’s health and other vulnerable groups has been transferred to the Directorate-General for Preparedness, Crisis Management, and Equality, led by Belgian liberal Hadja Lahbib.

Despite this apparent attempt to preserve the equality agenda within health policy, Lahbib’s department does not appear to prioritise women’s reproductive rights. The Commission’s draft roadmap on equality for the new legislative term—which is still pending approval—mentions ‘reproductive rights’ only once, and only as part of a general diagnosis of the challenges faced by European women in terms of ‘a lack of comprehensive information on sexual and reproductive health services and products, and lack of access to them where provided for under national legislation.’ However, the issue is not mentioned at all when outlining the Commission’s priorities for the 2024–2029 period.

The European Parliament, for its part, voted in April 2024 to include abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. But such resolutions from Parliament are not binding. «At this stage, the resolution is a political document rather than a binding law,» confirms Andrea Erdösová, expert on medical law. To amend the Charter—which holds the status of a treaty—an intergovernmental conference (IGC) would have to be convened. For this kind of procedure, all 27 Member States must support the change in order for it to move forward—something that currently seems unlikely, given the regression in abortion access in several EU countries.

But there are actors working to mobilise the Member States. The movement My Voice, My Choice (MVMC) has gathered over one million signatures in support of a European Citizens’ Initiative calling on the European Commission to create a financial mechanism that allows EU citizens to obtain an abortion in another country if it is denied in their home country. ‘The EU cannot force countries to change their laws, but it could create a model that allows women to travel abroad for the best care,’ says Veronika Povž, the campaign’s communications director.

As Exporting Abortion shows, even without such a mechanism, the data already proves that European women are travelling abroad for abortion care. ‘Those with enough money can travel for an abortion—there’s always a way for them. But it’s the marginalised groups and those who can’t afford it who suffer the most,’ says Povž.

So far, the Commission appears to pay little attention to the matter. Exporting Abortion submitted a request for access to documents addressed to the Directorate-General for Health—the body that held the relevant competencies at the time—asking for ‘any and all documents’ in its possession containing ‘information on European women who travel to a country other than their own to access abortion.’ The Commission responded by stating it had no documents containing such information.

This investigation also submitted a request asking the same institution for ‘all correspondence sent or received by the Directorate-General with various Member States concerning abortion and women’s access to it in the EU or in Member States.’ It was sent on November 4 of last year. More than five months later, the Commission has not replied, despite the legal deadline for a response being 15 working days, and despite the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU recognising citizens’ right to request and access documents from EU institutions.