According to local reporting, Italy’s latest annual report on the implementation of abortion law 194 is now long overdue, despite a requirement. Without timely and transparent information, it becomes far harder to monitor barriers to care and ensure access to abortion in practice.

The EU’s new Gender Equality Strategy acknowledges ongoing gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights. Now concrete action from the Commission is essential to improve access to contraception, abortion care and other essential health services across the block.

The Council of Europe @coe.int has called on Poland to urgently guarantee effective access to lawful abortion care. Women in Poland continue to face significant barriers to accessing abortion due to the near total ban and serious legal barriers.

Luxembourg recently voted to enshrine the freedom to have an abortion in its constitution, becoming the second country in the world to do so after France in 2024. Similar efforts to constitutionally protect reproductive rights are currently under discussion in several other European countries.

The UK House of Lords voted to fully decriminalise women who access abortion care outside legal pathways in England and Wales, paving the way for long-overdue reform. Women should never be treated as criminals when they need reproductive healthcare.

On International Women’s Day, the Center for Reproductive Rights Europe took stock of progress on abortion rights across the region. Despite important and continued progress, women still face legal and practical barriers to accessing essential care.

The European Parliament has backed a call for EU countries to ensure affordable, secure access to contraceptive and abortion-related medicines under the Critical Medicines Act. We urge lawmakers to ensure this commitment is retained in the final text.

Jersey is considering abortion law reform that would remove the requirement to prove distress and extend access without special justification up to 22 weeks. This aligns with @who.int guidance, which calls for removing regulatory barriers that delay abortion care.

The EU Commission has set out a pathway to support abortion access following the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative, clarifying for the first time that existing EU funds may be used to address barriers to care. Clear operational guidance is now needed to turn this into real access.

In Europe, demographic decline is increasingly invoked to justify rolling back abortion entitlements. A new report from @unfpa.org warns that simplistic or coercive responses to falling birth rates are ineffective and risk violating human rights. Real solutions centre reproductive agency.

In the last four years, Russia’s full-scale invasion of #Ukraine has killed thousands and displaced millions. Barriers to critical sexual and reproductive healthcare persist both in Ukraine and for many refugees across the EU, further compounding their trauma.

The expansion of the Global Gag Rule will have far-reaching consequences for access to essential health services worldwide. In Europe, it directly affects civil society and health systems, underscoring the EU’s responsibility to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights.

In just a few weeks, @ec.europa.eu will issue its decision on the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative, which calls for measures to support safe & accessible abortion across the EU. We are proud to support this important initiative.

📣 Call for input: @who.int is seeking grey literature and expert contributions on how abortion care information is included in comprehensive sex education for young people, with input welcomed from across regions and contexts.

Proud to have led this joint effort calling on @ec.europa.eu to act on the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative to ensure safe & accessible abortion across the EU. The Commission has the legal competence, democratic mandate and responsibility to act.

More than 1 million citizens. A majority of the European Parliament. And now, civil society across the EU. The message is clear: @ec.europa.eu must act on #MyVoiceMyChoice and propose a voluntary EU-level financial mechanism to support access to safe, legal abortion care. @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu

📣 Civil society groups from across the EU are calling on @ec.europa.eu to act on the #MyVoiceMyChoice ECI. The ask is clear: a voluntary EU-level financial mechanism that supports access to safe, legal abortion care. @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @roxanaminzatu.bsky.social @hadjalahbib.bsky.social

🆕 research examines @echr.coe.int cases on denied access to sexual and reproductive health services since 1976. The analysis shows that recurring human rights violations have contributed to persistent gaps between legal protections and effective access to care across Europe.

Encouraging news from #Malta, one of the few European countries with highly restrictive #abortion laws, reflecting growing recognition of the harm caused by penalising women who seek essential healthcare. Ultimately, the @who.int recommends the full decriminalisation of abortion.

2025 reaffirmed the progressive abortion law reform trend in #Europe, as legal and policy initiatives continued to strengthen and expand access to #abortion care across the continent. Here’s the breakdown 👇

🎉 Good news from Luxembourg: The Parliament’s Institutional Affairs Committee has advanced a proposal to enshrine access to #abortion in the Constitution, following backing from the State Council. A plenary vote is expected in early March.

An interesting analysis from @emmapirnay.bsky.social at @euractiv.com examining the growing web of anti-abortion influence in Brussels, including insights from our Legal Advisor Camille Gervais.

Access to clear, accurate information about essential healthcare, including #abortion, is a core component of the right to health, as recognised by the @who.int and UN human rights standards. Restricting access to this information can have serious implications for public health.

A Paris court has ruled that, until February 2025, the French state failed to implement legally required sexuality education in schools. The decision illustrates persistent gaps in delivering comprehensive sexual health education across Europe.

A 🆕 @who.int report shows how health systems across Europe are failing survivors of gender-based violence, leaving millions without access to essential care, including the clinical management of rape. Many still fall short of WHO guidelines for treating women & girls after experiencing violence.

#Denmark has agreed to compensate Greenlandic women and girls who were subjected to involuntary birth control between 1966-1991, when thousands were fitted with IUDs without consent. This marks an important step towards justice, recognition and reparations for survivors.

The @who.int has released its first global guideline on #infertility, offering 40 recommendations to make care safer and more affordable and urging countries to expand access to evidence-based services through their health systems. Infertility affects millions across Europe.

A King's College London study found that #COVID19 worsened #abortion access in #Poland, as lockdowns increased stigma, isolation & risks of intimate partner violence. The near-total abortion ban, resulting from the October 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling, further restricted access to care.

Women across Europe still endure obstetric violence, from non-consensual interventions to denial of privacy, decision-making and respectful care. @who.int standards call for dignified, woman-centered childbirth, including privacy, informed consent, continuous support and freedom from mistreatment.

Across #Europe, 43 of 49 countries now allow #abortion on request during early pregnancy. In the past decade, 20 countries have reformed laws to dismantle harmful barriers and improve access. Learn more 👇

Reproductive rights are human rights. Everyone, everywhere, has the right to control their own body, access reproductive healthcare, and live free from discrimination, coercion and violence.

#GenderEquality cannot be achieved without #SRHR. Women in Europe must have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, without stigma, barriers or discrimination. This includes: 💊 Contraception 🩺 Abortion 🧬 Assisted Reproduction 🤰 Maternal Care

Monaco remains one of only a handful of European countries that still has highly restrictive #abortion laws. By blocking the proposed legal reform, despite strong political support, women will continue to be forced to seek care abroad or outside legal pathways.

Sexual and reproductive health & rights are fundamental #humanrights, grounded in international law. Ensuring access to comprehensive #SRHR means protecting the universal rights to: 🧬 Life 🏥 Health 🔒 Privacy 🎓 Education ✊ Freedom from discrimination, violence and torture

A report from @amnesty.org shows that #abortion access in Europe remains deeply uneven, with criminalisation, delays, refusals of care and rising anti-rights pressure putting reproductive rights at risk. Governments must act to ensure equal & universal access to essential healthcare.

We welcome yesterday's decision of the Constitutional Court of #Slovakia which declares the harmful anti-NGO law adopted earlier this year unconstitutional. Civil society must be protected, not silenced or stigmatised.

🎉 @europarl.europa.eu has adopted the #MyVoiceMyChoice resolution! Congrats to @myvoicemychoice.bsky.social and everyone who backed this push for EU-wide access to #abortion care. We now look to @ec.europa.eu to build on this strong and clear call & put forward a legislative proposal.

Tomorrow @europarl.europa.eu votes on a resolution calling on the @ec.europa.eu to create an EU fund based on the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizen's Initiative, to help women access #abortion in other EU countries when they can't access this care at home. www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/agen...

EU Equality Ministers in the @consilium.europa.eu have called for stronger prevention & early detection of gender-based violence, highlighting that awareness, education and community support can empower bystanders to recognise abuse, intervene safely and help victims seek justice and protection.

We welcome @europarl.europa.eu call for a bold, more ambitious EU #GenderEquality Strategy that, among other things, recognises safe, legal #abortion care as a fundamental right. The strategy must include EU actions to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.

EU institutions have agreed on a revised Victims’ Rights Directive that, for the first time, clearly defines the SRH services that must be available to victims of #sexualviolence across Member States, including access to #abortion, emergency #contraception, PEP and STI testing. Full statement ⬇️

Reproductive rights are deeply connected to other fundamental #humanrights, including the rights to: 🌱 Life 🚫 Freedom from torture 🩺 Health 🔒 Privacy 🎓 Education ⚖️ Non-discrimination #HumanRightsDay

🎉 Lawmakers in the Faroe Islands have passed a bill to allow #abortion on request up to 12 weeks. This officially ends one of Europe’s most restrictive laws, which has been in place since 1956 and only allowed abortion on narrow grounds.

Latvia has postponed a vote on withdrawing from the #IstanbulConvention until after next year’s election. The treaty is Europe’s key framework for preventing and combating violence against women, and the delay follows major public protests and the President’s call to halt the process.

Today @europarl.europa.eu is holding a hearing on the @myvoicemychoice.bsky.social European Citizens’ Initiative. This is an important opportunity for policy makers to support the proposal and bring the EU closer to ensuring safe and accessible #abortion care across the region.

MEPs on the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality recently backed the @myvoicemychoice.bsky.social EU citizens’ initiative to create a fund helping women to access #abortion care in other EU countries when it’s restricted at home.

In many European countries, inadequate #SexEd in schools drives young people online for answers about sex & relationships, exposing them to harmful misinformation. Access to accurate, evidence-based, age-appropriate information is a human right, affirmed by @coe.int & other human rights bodies.

On International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, we honour those who devote their lives to protecting the rights, dignity and freedoms of every human being. WHRDs in Europe and around the world are targeted for their vital work. States must do more to guarantee their safety.

Civil society organisations in #Scotland have launched a national campaign calling for the full decriminalisation of #abortion and for abortion law to be brought in line with modern public health and human rights standards. Learn more 👉 letschangetheact.co.uk

Denying access to sexual & reproductive health care puts lives at risk and perpetuates violence against women and girls. Barrier-free, timely care—including abortion—is especially critical for survivors of sexual violence. Robust laws and policies are essential to #EndGBV. #IDEVAW #16Days #NoExcuse