The 'My Voice My Choice' initiative aims to standardize abortion access across the EU, potentially overriding national laws. The initiative, backed by 1.2 million signatures, urges EU institutions to fund abortion access for women facing restrictions in their countries. The campaign has brought the debate on EU involvement in national abortion policies back to the forefront. The initiative seeks to shift the traditional understanding of health policy as a national responsibility.
12 days ago
The "My Voice My Choice" European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) has reignited debates on abortion policy in the EU. Launched with 1.2 million signatures from at least seven member states, it pressures the European Commission to propose legislation funding abortion access for women denied it nationally.1
This ECI, debated in the European Parliament on December 2, 2025, aims to harmonize abortion rights continent-wide. Traditionally, health policies like abortion remain national prerogatives, but the initiative seeks EU-level intervention.1
A November 26, 2025, conference titled “My Voice My Choice: A Legal, Moral and Financial Fraud” challenged the initiative's legitimacy. Organized by Spanish MEPs Margarita de la Pisa and Jorge Buxadé, with Hungarian MEP András László and experts from the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), it drew demonstrators outside the Parliament.1
Speakers argued the campaign misrepresents itself as grassroots while relying on funded networks. Grégor Puppinck of ECLJ contrasted it with the 2013 pro-life "One of Us" ECI, which gathered 1.7 million volunteer signatures to end EU embryo funding.1
Personal testimonies from two women highlighted regrets over abortions in unsupportive environments. Critics warned the initiative exploits fears of unsupported pregnancies to advance broader agendas.1
Analysis revealed 254 supporting organizations, with 51 transparent ones showing heavy external funding. Nineteen receive EU grants, 20 from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and several link to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which got over 3.2 million euros in EU funds recently.1
Hungarian MEP András László described similar NGO surges during the 2015 migration crisis, often foreign-funded yet posing as local voices. He noted their indirect EU financing amplified influence in national debates.1
Legal expert Nicolas Bauer pointed to "soft discrimination" in EU programs, where conservative, family-oriented NGOs face rejections for conflicting with vague "EU values," while pro-abortion groups secure funds easily.1
The initiative echoes the 2022 U.S. Roe v. Wade overturn, which hardened European stances. France enshrined abortion constitutionally, and EU officials now frame it as a fundamental right.1
This push aligns with a permissive continental trend, as seen in Prince Albert II of Monaco's recent veto against liberalization—a rare holdout. Critics fear the ECI could redefine abortion as core to European identity, sidelining pro-life views.1
The debate underscores power struggles in the EU, where health sovereignty clashes with harmonization efforts. If adopted, it might mandate Commission examination, potentially leading to binding policies.1
Success could bypass national laws, funding cross-border abortions and marginalizing dissenting states. Pro-life advocates see it as cementing a pro-abortion Europe, limiting space for life-defending initiatives.1
The initiative's symbolic weight grows amid rising EU inclination toward progressive norms. It risks deepening divides between funded networks and volunteer-driven movements, altering the political landscape on reproductive rights.1
EU policy must respect national abortion laws, not override them
The assertion that EU policy must respect national abortion laws without overriding them underscores a critical debate at the intersection of supranational governance, national autonomy, and moral imperatives. From a Catholic perspective, this issue pits the principle of subsidiarity—emphasizing that higher authorities should not usurp the responsibilities of lower ones—against the inviolable doctrine that human life, from conception, demands universal protection. Catholic social teaching affirms the gravity of abortion as a direct assault on the dignity of the human person while cautioning against excessive centralization in bodies like the European Union (EU), which could undermine local decision-making. This analysis explores how these principles apply, revealing that while subsidiarity limits EU interference, the Church's commitment to the right to life calls for active promotion of pro-life norms across all levels of society, without coercive override of national laws.
Catholic doctrine unequivocally condemns direct abortion as a grave moral evil, rooted in the sacredness of human life from its earliest moments. The Church teaches that "from its conception, the child has the right to life," and direct abortion—willed as an end or means—is a "criminal" practice, incurring automatic excommunication. This stance is not merely advisory but stems from natural law, Scripture, and Tradition, as reaffirmed in papal encyclicals. For instance, Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae declares that "direct abortion... always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being," with no circumstance justifying it. He further emphasizes the continuity of this teaching across Church history, from Pius XI's Casti Connubii to Vatican II's Gaudium et Spes, which labels abortion an "unspeakable crime."
This moral absolute extends to civil law: laws permitting abortion lack "authentic juridical validity" because they contradict the common good and the equality of persons before the law. Pope John Paul II stresses that such laws "are completely lacking in authentic juridical validity," as they undermine society's purpose to protect life. Moreover, citizens have no obligation to obey intrinsically unjust laws; instead, they must resist through conscientious objection, as seen in biblical examples like the Hebrew midwives defying Pharaoh's infanticide order out of fear of God. In legislative contexts, while voting for more restrictive abortion laws is permissible—even if imperfect—this does not endorse permissive regimes but seeks to limit harm. Thus, abortion is not a neutral policy matter subject to cultural variation but a non-negotiable violation of human dignity, prior to any societal or legal framework.
Central to Catholic social teaching is the principle of subsidiarity, which ensures that communities of higher order—such as the EU—do not interfere in the internal affairs of lower ones, like nation-states, unless necessary to support the common good. The Catechism of the Catholic Church articulates this as follows: "A community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good." This principle protects personal freedom and initiative from excessive state intervention, promoting a "graduated order" where responsibilities remain at the most local level capable of handling them.
Subsidiarity applies directly to supranational entities like the EU, where "neither the state nor any larger society should substitute itself for the initiative and responsibility of individuals and intermediary bodies." Pope Pius XI, in Quadragesimo Anno (1931), foundational to this doctrine, warned against assigning to higher associations what lower ones can accomplish, as it disrupts right order and absorbs subordinate groups. Pope John Paul II echoed this in addresses on European integration, praising subsidiarity as a "pillar of the Church’s social teaching" that distributes responsibility across regional, national, and continental levels, transferring only what lower levels cannot manage for the common good. In Populorum Progressio, Pope Paul VI applied subsidiarity to international aid and cooperation, insisting that recipient nations retain sovereignty over internal affairs, with donors providing support without interference in governance or social order.
This framework fosters solidarity—mutual recognition of interdependence—while respecting autonomy. As the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union notes, subsidiarity appeals to personal responsibility and self-examination, ensuring that EU actions balance union with regional vitality, rooted in neighborly love and Christian heritage. In essence, subsidiarity is not isolationism but a call for ordered collaboration, where higher bodies coordinate rather than dictate.
The user's statement aligns with subsidiarity by arguing that EU policy should not override national abortion laws, preserving the sovereignty of member states in morally sensitive areas. Catholic teaching supports this restraint: the EU, as a "community of a higher order," must avoid encroaching on national competencies unless they directly impinge on the continental common good. Pope John Paul II, in messages on European constitutional development, urged that EU structures respect the "genius of peoples" and their historical goals, without expressing preferences for specific institutional solutions, while ensuring openness to cooperation. He highlighted values like human dignity, the sacredness of life, and family centrality as Europe's heritage, which any EU framework must safeguard without imposing uniformity. Similarly, in Ecclesia in America, he welcomed democratic progress in the Americas (analogous to Europe) that respects human rights, but stressed that no authority can infringe fundamental rights like life by appealing to pluralism or majority opinion.
Yet, this respect for national laws does not equate to moral relativism on abortion. The Church distinguishes between governance structures and absolute ethical truths: while subsidiarity limits EU coercion, it obliges the Union to promote the common good, including the right to life as "inscribed in human nature itself" and willed by God. Pope John Paul II affirmed that civil laws must conform to the moral law, or they cease to bind consciences; thus, EU policies could legitimately encourage harmonization toward life-affirming standards without overriding national sovereignty. For example, in addressing European parliaments, he invoked subsidiarity to distribute responsibilities but tied it to a "global common good" that includes protecting life and fostering solidarity. Populorum Progressio reinforces this by calling for dialogue between donors and recipients to assess needs without disrupting internal policies, yet always aiming at mutual dignity.
Controversies arise where national laws permit abortion, as these inherently conflict with the universal common good. The Church would view EU attempts to standardize permissive abortion access as a violation not just of subsidiarity but of human rights, potentially legalizing "suicide-murder" and eroding trust in society. Conversely, EU initiatives to restrict or defund abortion—through funding conditions or ethical guidelines—could align with subsidiarity if they support rather than supplant national efforts, as in limiting harm via conscientious objection. Pope John Paul II's address to CSCE ministers emphasized educating for freedom and solidarity, with the Church contributing moral values to Europe's spiritual fabric without political overreach. Thus, the EU must navigate this by invoking subsidiarity to respect national laws while using its platform to advocate for conversion toward the Gospel of Life, as the Church does universally.
In conclusion, Catholic teaching affirms that EU policy must indeed respect national abortion laws under subsidiarity, avoiding overrides that deprive states of their proper functions and threaten personal initiative. However, this respect is bounded by the absolute imperative to protect innocent life, rendering permissive national laws morally illegitimate and calling for EU-level solidarity in promoting pro-life values. The Church envisions a Europe where subsidiarity and the common good converge to uphold human dignity, fostering dialogue that recognizes persons as ends, not means. Ultimately, true integration honors both autonomy and the transcendent right to life, urging all levels of authority to serve the Gospel's vision of justice and peace.