“This vote is a huge win for every woman in Europe. The EU has finally shown that sexual and reproductive health care is a basic human right,” Renew’s Abir Al-Sahlani said after the vote. Al-Sahlani tabled the resolution on behalf of the women’s rights and gender equality committee.
“This initiative shows what is possible when citizens and institutions join forces. This is what democracy is about.”
As the Parliament swings to the right in policy areas such as migration and deregulation, this vote is a silver lining for Europe’s center left, which has lost leverage following the 2024 EU election.
Ahead of the vote, many liberal and left-wing MEPs feared the right-wing majority would be able to kill the resolution and substitute it for a watered-down version. However, the Parliament’s largest group, the conservative European People’s Party, was split — with 71 MEPs voting in favor and 68 against — allowing the original resolution to pass.
Nika Kovač, coordinator of the citizens’ initiative campaign told POLITICO the result was “totally unexpected, because it looked like for a moment that the conservatives and far right made the deal. But the silent majority is on the side of reproductive rights, which is a huge message,” she said.
“They try to convince us that we are divided; we are actually a united community,” Kovač said, adding that support for reproductive rights crosses the political spectrum.
Not everyone agrees. “You are disgusting,” yelled far-right MEP Alexander Jungbluth, with the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, directed at MEPs who were celebrating outside the hemicycle with the petitioners.