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Today, the European Commission has responded positively to the My Voice, My Choice European Citizens’ Initiative. This decision demonstrates that when citizens mobilise at scale, the European Union can act to advance fundamental rights.  We congratulate the activists and citizens who made this achievement possible. More than one million people across Europe raised their voices, supported by 170 civil society organisations, a clear majority of the European Parliament, and 10 Member States calling for concrete EU action to reduce inequalities in access to essential healthcare. This unprecedented mobilisation sends a powerful and unmistakable message: access to safe abortion care is a matter of fundamental rights, safety and dignity and requires European action.  Micah Grzywnowicz, IPPF EN Regional Director, said:  “This is a historic step forward for women across Europe. When access to abortion care depends on where you live or what resources you have, the harm is real and entirely preventable — and it has no place in a Union founded on equality, dignity and human rights. The European Commission has now set out a clear path for Member States to act using EU funds. Today’s decision is encouraging, and we will continue working with the Commission and Member States to make it a reality.”  While the European Commission did not propose a new dedicated funding mechanism, it has, for the first time, clarified that Member States may use an EU budgetary instrument to fund abortion care. This clarification confirms that supporting access to abortion care falls within EU competence. Through existing allocations under the European Social Fund+ (ESF+), women would be able to access abortion care, including support for travel and accommodation costs where needed. This has the potential to make a tangible difference in women’s lives. To deliver on the promise of today’s decision, the Commission must now move swiftly to implementation. This requires clear guidance to Member States on how ESF+ funding can be used for cross-border abortion care. We also hope the Commission will follow through on its commitment to facilitate exchanges of good practices between Member States, enabling effective and consistent use of this funding opportunity.  However, the Commission’s response falls short in one critical respect: it does not allocate any additional resources, instead relying solely on already limited ESF+ funding. Redirecting existing funds is not sufficient. People across Europe deserve a serious and adequately resourced commitment to ensuring access to safe and legal abortion care. We therefore call on Member States and the European Parliament to ensure that additional resources are allocated to the future ESF in the next Multiannual Financial Framework.   It is now time to turn citizens’ voices into concrete EU action. We urge all Member States to take up the path laid out by the European Commission and make full use of this opportunity. With political will and proper funding, this historic step can significantly improve access to essential healthcare for women across Europe.  We also look ahead to the forthcoming Gender Equality Strategy and hope it will include concrete actions to strengthen women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights across the European Union.    Media contact: [email protected] 

Sensoa, La Fédération Laïque des Centres de Planning Familial, Le Planning Familial, and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) call on the Belgian government to continue negotiations to save the remaining contraceptive supplies in Geel. These organizations are also asking that there be no (further) cuts to international cooperation and support for sexual and reproductive health and rights. The latter demand is also directed at European policymakers. 20 shipments of contraceptives lost The damage caused by Trump's war on women appears to be greater than expected: in addition to the already known stock of contraceptives, stored correctly in a warehouse in Geel (4 truckloads worth $9.7 million), it is now confirmed there are another 20 truckloads at an unknown location in Kallo. The conditions of the medical products in the trucks are not controlled, and most of it has already likely become unusable. This is evident from the response of Flemish Minister of the Environment Jo Brouns to a parliamentary question from Mieke Schauvliege, Flemish member of parliament for Groen. As a reminder, since President Trump dismantled USAID, the US Agency for International Development, he has wanted to burn a stockpile of contraceptives stored in Belgium. These supplies were intended for women in 13 countries in total: destination countries include DR Congo, Tanzania, Haiti, Mali & Kenya among other places, many of which are already facing severe humanitarian crises. The Belgian government has since been in negotiations with the US government to save this stockpile. The human cost of the lost stockpile is great and will impact the lives of thousands of women.   President Trump will have millions of deaths on his conscience Not only is Trump's policy deliberately cruel and morally reprehensible, it is also a waste of useful (contraceptive) resources and therefore millions of dollars. This is the result of politicians deciding to abruptly cut back on international cooperation, which rolls back the progress made over de past years. The discontinuation of USAID will cause 14 million deaths worldwide by 2030, including 4.5 million children under the age of five.   European governments must not cut back on international solidarity  It is clear that budget cuts have a major impact on women’s health. Voices are now growing louder at the European level to also cut back on international cooperation, including SRHR. So instead of trying to fill the gap the US is leaving, European governments are making it even bigger. The Belgian government has plans to cut back on international solidarity by 25%. Belgian press is reporting that these cuts could be increased even further. This would further widen the gap already created by Trump. SRHR organisations does not want any further cuts to international solidarity funding. "Since the discontinuation of USAID support, it has become much more difficult to continue our services. Our contraceptive supplies are exhausted and new deliveries are sporadic. Previously, anyone who wanted to avoid pregnancy could come to us and choose the contraceptive that suited them. Now women have to switch to whatever is available, or we cannot help them."  Dr. Bakari Omary of UMATI, Project Coordinator at Umati, IPPF's Member Association in Tanzania   Practical information & contact information of spokespersons: More background on the USAID supplies: read our previous statement here, here and here. IPPF EN Media, [email protected] Sara Salarkiya, International Policy  Advisor at Sensoa [email protected] Boris Cruyssaert, Communications, Sensoa [email protected] Sarah Durocher, President, Le Planning familial [email protected]   Photo banner: IPPF/Xaume Olleros/Mali

In a matter of hours, the Trump Administration will be enacting a cruel and ideologically driven decision to destroy $10 million worth of life-saving contraceptives - resources that were procured by U.S. taxpayer funds to support critical health needs in partner countries across the Global South, including those of 218 million women facing an unmet need for contraceptive care. This is an intentional act of reproductive coercion. Despite multiple offers from international humanitarian organizations, governments and global health actors to purchase or redistribute these supplies, the U.S. government has refused all alternatives. Instead, they are choosing waste and extremist ideology over care, human rights, safety and health. Reports indicate that the cost of destroying these supplies may reach $167.000 paid by American citizens. This decision is not about money: IPPF has offered to collect the products in Brussels, to transport and repack the products in its warehouse in The Netherlands and to distribute the products onwards to women in need across the globe. All at no cost to the US government. This decision is about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world that denies women the choice of when and how many children to have, and denies people the opportunity to protect themselves against HIV and other STIs.  “It’s the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy life-saving supplies when the need has never been greater. This isn’t just inefficient — it’s unconscionable.” said Micah Grzywnowicz, Regional Director of IPPF European Network. “This action seriously undermines global public health efforts and limits access to essential care, particularly for communities already facing significant barriers. It reflects a troubling disregard for the rights and well-being of those most in need, as well as complete lack of basic empathy.” The Trump Administration has been relentless in its obsession with controlling women’s bodies - not only in the United States, but globally. This is the latest attack in a long-term campaign to dismantle access to sexual and reproductive health care around the world. According to a survey run by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), these attacks could result in 8.5 million people worldwide being denied lifesaving SRH care.   Now, pallets of contraceptives sit unused in warehouses—including one in Geel, Belgium—awaiting destruction. These are allegedly already scheduled for incineration in France in the coming days. Nico Bogaerts, Director of Sensoa, the Flemish expertise centre on sexual health: "Destroying the USAID supplies stocked in Geel, Belgium is incredibly wasteful. That the US government would prefer to pay to destroy supplies they have already paid for, instead of releasing them to other organizations is cruel. These supplies could save people's lives. We strongly encourage the Belgian and French governments to find a way to save them from incineration and to ensure that they reach people who need them." Sarah Durocher, President of Le Planning familial, IPPF French Member Association: “France has the moral responsibility to act. A government that proudly enshrines abortion rights in its Constitution must also work to protect contraception and the rights of young girls beyond its borders. With its voice respected on the international stage, the French government cannot stay silent while contraceptive supplies are being destroyed and thousands of people are put in danger.” We call on the French company that would be responsible for destroying these contraceptives to reconsider its role. They have an immense moral and societal responsibility. The company has the power to reject this agreement. Sexual and reproductive rights are not a commodity like any other to be discarded. At the same time, we urge the U.S. Administration to immediately halt this senseless destruction. These cruel actions will have far-reaching consequences — and they will cost lives. This moment demands leadership rooted in dignity and humanity. It is only right that everyone can choose whether and when to have children, to be who we are and love who we love, and for our children to be taught about having safe, healthy, and happy relationships. We have the collective moral obligation to work with people around the world to build communities in which everyone can flourish and thrive.    Signatories: Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial (FLCPF), Belgium International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Le Planning familial, France Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) Sensoa, Belgium Countdown 2030 Europe MSI Reproductive Choices   Media contacts: IPPF Media, [email protected]  Heleen Heysse, International Policy Officer, Sensoa Tel: [email protected]   Boris Cruyssaert, Communications, Sensoa  [email protected]    Sarah Durocher, President, Le Planning familial Tel: [email protected]     

Today, instead of delivering justice, the court prolonged the legal persecution of Justyna Wydrzyńska by ordering a retrial. This is not justice—it is yet another attempt to exhaust and intimidate women human rights defenders (WHRDs) fighting for reproductive rights. 

We are highly disappointed and angered by the vote today in the Sejm, who rejected a bill that would have decriminalised those helping women access abortion care. The bill failed to pass with a margin of only three votes. Members of Parliament voted against the safety, dignity and freedom of Polish women and against their families and loved ones, who can still be prosecuted for helping them access abortion care, together with reproductive rights defenders, and healthcare professionals. Decriminalising abortion assistance and provision would be the bare minimum. Yet Poland remains a country where women are dying because they are denied abortion care and where family and friends need to risk their freedom to help loved ones. Poland continues to be at odds with the rest of Europe. Currently, Poland has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, with access to care only permitted in situations of risk to the life or health of a pregnant woman, or if a pregnancy results from rape. In practice, however, it is almost impossible for those eligible for a legal abortion to obtain one. Those who help women access abortion care risk a prison sentence of up to three years. Last year, a women's rights advocate, Justyna Wydrzyńska, was convicted for sending self-administered abortion pills to a pregnant woman, a gynecologist was charged with unlawfully assisting patients in obtaining abortion pills, and a man was indicted for helping his partner obtain an abortion. The proposed bill would have completely decriminalised abortion assistance throughout a pregnancy and provision up to the 12th week of pregnancy and also removed penalties for abortion provision in cases of risks for the health or life of the pregnant woman or of a high probability of severe and irreversible fetal defects. Polish elected representatives once again failed to listen to the voice of Polish citizens who are in favour of liberalising abortion care laws. We need to end this terror campaign against those who help women and, ultimately, legalise abortion care and guarantee access for all women who need it. IPPF EN will continue to stand in solidarity with those fighting for reproductive freedom. The fight is not over.

As we wait for the political landscape of the new European Parliament to come fully into focus after the weekend’s European elections, IPPF EN is concerned about the impact of gains made by the far right, especially in some countries. An increase in the influence of the far right always threatens reproductive rights and gender equality. However, we are encouraged that the traditional grand coalition of centre-right, socialist and liberal parties will still maintain a majority. IPPF EN is determined to remind new and returning Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) of their institution’s proud, longstanding legacy as a champion of human rights, and their responsibility to uphold them. Over the coming weeks, the newly composed European Parliament will organise itself into working Committees and gear up for its important first job of vetting the incoming team of European Commissioners. These are early opportunities for MEPs to ensure strong positioning of human rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights, in institutional structures for the coming five years. As the new European Parliament begins work, IPPF EN is committed to urging and supporting it to continue to protect and advance the founding EU values of democracy, freedom, rule of law, human dignity, equality, and human rights. It must do this at home and abroad, using all political and funding instruments at the disposal of the EU institutions. We will call on MEPs to remain staunch guardians of precious civic space and to ensure the protection of all human rights defenders. IPPF EN stands ready to work together with the European Parliament to build and uphold an EU that strives to ensure all people, including those from marginalised communities, can live and achieve their full potential, free from discrimination, injustice and inequality. In these turbulent times, the challenges to EU values are considerable. But we are convinced that the EU can, and must, continue to safeguard and advance women’s rights, gender equality and social justice. The European Parliament remains a vital actor and partner in achieving this. Read more about how the European Union can deliver on reproductive freedom.    Illustration: Fátima Bravo