Nearly 1.2 million people have signed the European Union citizens' initiative supporting abortion rights

Wednesday, Apr 23, 2025

HVG

European Citizens Initiative gathers over 1.2 million signatures for safe abortion access across the EU.

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A European Citizens Initiative titled “My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion” successfully gathered over 1.2 million signatures before its April 24, 2025 deadline, exceeding the required threshold for validity across member states. In Hungary, organizers secured 17,638 signatures, meeting the necessary criteria. The campaign aims to allow Europe to make life better and safer for women regardless of their circumstances by urging the European Commission to propose financial support to member states that cannot provide safe abortions. While many countries with strong rights protections showed high levels of support, some newer member states also met the threshold. The European Commission has three months to verify the signatures; if confirmed, organizers can formally submit the initiative for review, after which the Commission has six months to issue a response detailing legal and political conclusions or planned actions, potentially including public hearings in the European Parliament.

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PULSE is an initiative for cross-border collaborative journalism in Europe co-funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement n. PO 4500158093.

PULSE is an initiative coordinated by OBCT that has been promoting intensive journalistic cross-border collaborations in Europe since 2024. Its main aim is to help strengthen the European public sphere by reporting on and telling stories from new and diverse perspectives.

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