European Citizens’ Initiative 'My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortion'

Amendments tabled for the plenary sitting on this text, in their own numbering series. This is a different set from the committee amendments tracked elsewhere on AmendEU, and is not counted in any of the site’s amendment totals.

1. Amendment 1ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital B a (new)
   Amendment

   Ba. whereas in its communication, the organisation ‘My Voice, My Choice’ regularly takes a stand on political or international issues unrelated to the issue of access to abortion, notably acting as a mouthpiece for pro-Palestinian propaganda, making statements in favour of mass migration, denouncing capitalism and claiming to be part of the radical anti-fascist movement;

   official amendment document ↗
2. Amendment 2ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital D
   Current text

   D. whereas access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe, universally accessible and legal abortion care, is a fundamental right; whereas banning access to reproductive care does not reduce the need for abortion care, but rather increases recourse to unsafe abortion, which has a negative impact on many areas of women’s and girls’ lives, including their fertility and mortality, or forces patients to travel abroad to obtain legal abortion care;

   Amendment

   D. whereas access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe, universally accessible and legal abortion care, is not included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas there are no official and reliable statistics concerning the number of women who have died or been seriously injured as a result of unsafe abortion procedures in the European Union;

   official amendment document ↗
3. Amendment 3ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital E
   Current text

   E. whereas individuals’ ability to exercise their reproductive autonomy, including their right to decide freely and responsibly whether, when and how to have children, must be guaranteed in order to achieve gender equality and the full enjoyment of human rights for everyone in Europe; whereas the right to bodily integrity and autonomy must be fully respected and guaranteed;

   Amendment

   E. whereas women’s ability to exercise their reproductive autonomy, including their right to decide freely and responsibly whether, when and how to get pregnant and have children, must be guaranteed; whereas scientific literacy is essential to understand the biological processes of pregnancy to allow each individual to understand when and how fertilisation can occur;

   official amendment document ↗
4. Amendment 4ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital J
   Current text

   J. whereas many EU Member States have taken meaningful legislative steps to advance access to abortion by removing harmful procedural and regulatory barriers and abolishing criminal penalties; whereas, however, two Member States still do not allow abortion on request, eight Member States maintain a mandatory waiting period and several Member States either do not reimburse or subsidise abortion care or only offer limited coverage; whereas 11 countries in Europe do not provide medication abortion (i.e. non-surgical abortion) and only five allow abortion care via telemedicine; whereas the time limits for abortion on request vary significantly within Europe, ranging from 10 weeks to 24 weeks;

   Amendment

   J. whereas many EU Member States have taken meaningful legislative steps to advance access to abortion by removing harmful procedural and regulatory barriers and abolishing criminal penalties; whereas, however, two Member States still do not allow abortion on request, eight Member States maintain a mandatory waiting period and several Member States either do not reimburse or subsidise abortion care or only offer limited coverage; whereas 11 countries in Europe do not provide medication abortion (i.e. non-surgical abortion) and only five allow abortion care via telemedicine; whereas the time limits for abortion on request vary significantly within Europe, ranging from 10 weeks to 24 weeks; wh…

   Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
   official amendment document ↗
5. Amendment 5ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital M
   Current text

   M. whereas around 20 million women in Europe12 do not have access to safe and legal abortion care and their health remains in jeopardy; whereas this figure includes women fleeing conflicts and wars, and migrant women; _________________ 12 This figure is based on the number of women living in Poland and Malta who do not have access to abortion because of restrictive laws in their countries of residence and restrictions and limitations in other EU Member States.

   Amendment

   M. whereas around 20 million women in Europe do not have access to safe and legal abortion care and their health remains in jeopardy; whereas this figure includes women fleeing conflicts and wars, and migrant women, as well as women who are no longer fertile, and would therefore not need any abortions;

   official amendment document ↗
6. Amendment 6ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital N
   Current text

   N. whereas many women are forced to travel across borders to access abortion care in another EU country, often facing financial, logistical and psychological barriers, despite the existence of EU rules on cross-border healthcare;

   Amendment

   N. whereas many women are forced to travel across borders to access abortion care in another EU country, often facing financial, logistical and psychological barriers; whereas the existence of EU rules on cross-border healthcare respects the principle of subsidiarity;

   official amendment document ↗
7. Amendment 7ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital P a (new)
   Amendment

   Pa. whereas only biological women can get pregnant and bear children;

   official amendment document ↗
8. Amendment 8ECRMotion for a resolution · Recital Q
   Current text

   Q. whereas discrepancies in abortion care in Europe are a reality; whereas the healthcare systems of some Member States already need to absorb abortion patients from other Member States because of the restrictions that exist there, so this ECI proposes financially compensating those Member States;

   Amendment

   Q. whereas discrepancies in abortion care in Europe are a reality; whereas the healthcare systems of some Member States already need to absorb abortion patients from other Member States because of the restrictions that exist there, so this ECI proposes financially compensating those Member States by absorbing funds from the funds dedicated to health;

   official amendment document ↗
9. Amendment 9ECRMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 2
   Current text

   2. Calls on the Commission, in line with the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ ECI proposal, to set up an opt-in mechanism that is open to Member States on a voluntary basis, with EU financial support to ensure solidarity, without interfering with nationals laws and regulations; calls on the Commission to submit a proposal to provide Member States with financial support to enable them to provide safe termination of pregnancies, in accordance with their domestic law, for anyone in the EU who still lacks access to safe and legal abortion;

   Amendment

   2. Considers that the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ ECI proposes to use EU funds to circumvent national health laws;

   official amendment document ↗
10. Amendment 10ECRMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 5
    Current text

    5. Denounces the backlash against women’s rights and gender equality in Europe and worldwide, including the roll-back of SRHR and attacks on SRHR defenders; strongly condemns anti-gender movements that seek to undermine gender equality and women’s rights; calls for stronger European action to counter anti-gender movements, safeguard bodily autonomy and ensure universal access to SRHR, including family planning information, affordable contraception, safe and legal abortion, and maternal healthcare;

    Amendment

    5. Recalls that the Member States have sovereign choice regarding sexual and reproductive healthcare; recalls that freedom of opinion and expression for every citizen and every political organisation is a fundamental right of the European Union;

    official amendment document ↗