by Megan Clement

One of the core aims of the European Union is to “offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders” to the 448 million citizens of its 27 countries. But those lofty values do not extend to reproductive rights.

Whether you have access to safe, legal and affordable abortion depends on where you happen to live within the EU. If you live in the Netherlands, you can end an unwanted or unviable pregnancy up to 24 weeks. If you live in Poland, where abortion is essentially banned, you may die because you cannot access the care you need — at least six women have done so since the country tightened its already highly restrictive abortion laws in 2021.

The availability of abortion pills online has meant that people in places like Malta, which also bans abortion with very limited exceptions, can still access terminations in early pregnancy from their homes. But every year, hundreds still need to travel around the EU to access abortion care they are denied at home. These journeys are expensive and a dedicated army of feminists, including the Abortion Without Borders network, work to support those who need to travel.

But what if the EU lived up to another of its founding ideals, that of solidarity, to ensure that everyone who needs an abortion can get one without having to pay? And what if making that happen was fun? That’s the idea behind My Voice, My Choice, a campaign collecting signatures for a citizens’ initiative that would create a fund for people to access abortion in other EU countries if they need to. The campaign needs 1.2 million signatures by April to take their proposal to the EU Commission. (It passed the minimum threshold of one million just before December, but is seeking 200,000 more to account for any doubled or invalid signatures.)

Today, on the day when the man most responsible for the end of national abortion rights in the United States — a man found liable for sexual abuse — is sworn in for a second presidential term, we are publishing an interview with Lana Čop from My Voice, My Choice. She told us about what she has learned about bringing joy and community to abortion rights activism during dark political times. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Italian MPs wear campaign t-shirts in the country’s parliament.
Photo: My Voice, My Choice

Megan Clement: How did your movement get started?

Lana Čop: The story goes back to 2019, when the #MeToo movement came from the US to Europe, and a group of friends at the 8th March Institute decided to bring it to Slovenia. They collected the testimonies of victims of sexual harassment, and while going through them, they understood that there was a problem with the definition of rape in the Slovenian legal system. Searching for a solution, they [found] that citizens in Slovenia can demand that the National Assembly change or rewrite a law using a citizens’ initiative. This group of friends rewrote the law into the “yes means yes” consent model. They gathered the signatures extremely [quickly] during coronavirus and then they campaigned on it. They came to the parliament, and all the political parties except one voted for it. Since 2019, the institute has changed 17 laws in Slovenia. We organised two national referenda and won them, and also [ran] the biggest get out the vote campaign before the elections. We started to gain experience around creating movements, about signatures, collections, campaigning, and there was a wish to bring this to the European level.

Then came the Roe v Wade decision in the US which was shocking for everyone across the world. [Editor’s Note: in 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a previous ruling that had protected abortion rights in the country. Since then, 13 US states have enacted abortion bans.] We said, “We cannot let that happen in Europe as well. We should protect access to abortion in all EU member states.” We started to check the options for civil society to influence EU law. There are two ways. One is to use a petition, which can [exert] political pressure, but it doesn’t necessarily result in concrete changes. There is a second option, which is a European Citizens’ Initiative, similar to what we were doing all the time in Slovenia.

Health and reproductive rights are in the competencies of the member states, not the EU. To request a new right for abortion, even though that’s the ideal scenario, we knew that was just not possible in this current political situation, so we were searching for a more realistic solution. Our lawyers understood that to be part of the competencies of EU law, we would need to take a health perspective. So we requested the EU to create a new financial mechanism to cover the cost of abortion in the countries where it’s legally possible for all EU citizens who do not have abortion in their national states. At the moment, 20 million citizens do not have access to abortion in the European Union and that’s horrible.

Megan Clement: How would this financial mechanism work?

Lana Čop: It would mean a woman from Poland who does not have access to abortion could have a free abortion provided in, for example, France, where that’s possible. This mechanism would not be obligatory. Only the countries that want to be part of this program would opt into it. Once we have one million signatures, only then will the EU Commission look into the financial, practical and legal implications.

Megan Clement: And so if a country like France says, “OK, we sign up to this,” then they receive funding from the EU to provide abortions to people from other member states who need them?

Lana Čop: Exactly.

Photo: My Voice, My Choice

Megan Clement: Is the idea to try to create a more just system across Europe so everyone has the same rights?

Lana Čop: It’s about giving this basic human right and basic health service to all women in Europe. It’s about protecting their right to choose. It’s about protecting their lives. It’s also about solidarity between the citizens of the European Union. I am from Slovenia, where we have access to abortion, but we need to show solidarity with all women who do not have this right. Because their fight is our fight. We are all in this together.

Megan Clement: What strategies are you using to build support for this measure?

Lana Čop: First, we created a network across the EU. We collaborated and connected with many feminist organisations, but also human rights organisations and civil society across the European Union. For the second stage, we opened up the possibility for all the citizens and individuals to take part. We created a big WhatsApp community that everyone could join, and then we created groups per country. We sent out lots of nice merch. We had t-shirts, earrings, stickers [and posters] that were sent all over Europe. We did constant signature collection, but then also specific action weeks that were focused, for example, around March 8th [International Women’s Day]. We reached out to certain influencers and press to share our content. Our Instagram channel gives information about what’s happening in Europe regarding abortion and feminist topics, but it’s also fun. It jumps on all the different trends that are happening on social media and shares the message through fun elements. We went to the universities to speak with students; this is also where we got a lot of volunteers, because you need people power. Then we attended events that were organised by different organisations or municipalities here in Strasbourg. We went to
concerts and different protests. We tried to be active on all possible fronts.

Megan Clement: The stereotype about abortion is that people might support the right, but it’s seen as controversial and they don’t want to shout about it. But it seems you have not struggled to find support.

Lana Čop: The data shows us that people in Europe are for access to abortion. Those who are against it are just much more vocal, and they talk more. They are more active on social media. That’s why it seems like we hear their message more, but the majority of citizens of the European Union support access to abortion. I’m not saying that all is perfect, and we have faced some attacks, but generally, we have had very positive experiences during our campaign. Sometimes we’re joined by those you would not expect. The most beautiful thing in all of this is that we created a huge community of feminists and of citizens around Europe who really gathered together for this cause. One part of what we do is collecting signatures. But the second part, which is actually even bigger, is this movement we created in the community that will last far beyond the moment when we bring the signatures to the European Commission.

Actors Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef show their support at the 2024 Oscars.
Photo: My Voice, My Choice

Megan Clement: When we think about what’s happening in Europe currently, we often think of the rise of the far-right – it is happening here in France, we’re seeing it in Germany, and of course there are existing governments that are very opposed to reproductive rights. This campaign represents the opposite of that trend.

Lana Čop: We observed the rise of the authoritarian governing style all over Europe, and we know they are very well connected. They connect [across] borders, they meet, they cooperate, they share strategies, they inspire each other. They learn from their successes, they learn from their mistakes, and they go in the same direction. And because they are so connected, they seem stronger than us. The idea of My Voice, My Choice is that we are also getting connected. We are communicating and sharing, and we stand for each other.

Megan Clement: Do you have any advice or strategies to share about taking on far-right narratives and movements in Europe?

Lana Čop: We have to be active on social media [because] they are very active on social media. So use WhatsApp or Instagram to create communities. Create fun. I often think we are missing out on fun moments to be attractive to citizens. Connect across borders, connect with friends, become part of little communities near your city. Communities and small groups of people have such power to change things if they work together.

Megan Clement: I ask everyone I interview for this newsletter the same question. What gives you hope?

Lana Čop: Community.

Photo: My Voice, My Choice

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