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If you were to zoom out and look at the European Union as a whole, you would think that women’s rights stand at the forefront of European Values, specifically speaking, abortion rights.  After all, equality between men and women is one of the European Union’s founding principles, dating back to the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Yet today, 8 March 2026, on International Women’s Day, two EU member states have long been turning a blind eye to abortion, that being Poland and Malta. 

The European Union prides itself on binding legal instruments that member states are obliged to uphold. Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union lists equality as a pillar value. Article 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees the right to physical integrity. The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030 was developed to accelerate action on women’s rights. 

Yet, the Strategy itself acknowledges “barriers to contraception and restrictions on safe, legal abortion, even within some EU Member States”. Within its own borders, millions of women are denied the right to choose what happens to their bodies. 

While abortion law remains largely within the competence of individual member states, the EU can exert political pressure and set equality standards. However, there is still tension between national criminal law and shared European values, which form the basis of the current debate.

Looking at the bigger picture first, such as International health and human rights standards, they approach abortion first and foremost as healthcare and bodily autonomy, not homicide. 

The World Health Organisation treats abortion as an imperative component of sexual and reproductive health care and recommends against laws that prohibit abortion solely through gestational age limit, because such restrictions delay access and increase harm rather than “protect life”. 

Similarly, the United Nations treaty bodies such as the Human Rights Committee, also warn against criminalising people for ending a pregnancy and emphasise the countries dutirues to protect women’s life and health to prevent suffering caused by a forced continuation of a pregnancy. 

At the same time, WHO recognises that the type of care and level of support often change with gestational age. For example, WHO notes that self-managed medical abortion can be safe and effective at gestational ages under 12 weeks, with access to accurate information and support if needed.

In simple terms, all these international bodies understand that the answer should not be about ‘punishing’ women, but ensuring that safe medical care, dignity, and choice are available to all women, especially when they are restricted and forced to undergo an abortion by using unsafe methods.

Even with this clear international consensus on abortion as being healthcare, Poland and Malta remain outliers within the EU when it comes to abortion. How come? Well, both countries take, for instance, religion; they share a strong bond with the Catholic faith, with 83% of Maltese and 71% of Polish citizens identifying as Roman Catholic. 

This bond between people and church is what shapes both Polish and Maltese societies to this day, particularly regarding family-oriented values, which drive citizens’ opinions on abortion. Despite active pro-choice movements, most of these societies remain sceptical. Nearly 62% of Maltese and 63% of Poles oppose full liberalisation of abortion law. 

Even with similar attitudes, the legal situation for Polish women appears somewhat favourable. No law directly criminalises self-induced medical abortion. 

Although abortion pills cannot be purchased at the local chemist’s, they can be ordered from abroad via activist networks, such as WomenHelpWomen, or the first ever Abortion Clinic in Poland – Abotak. 

However, it is illegal to deliberately and directly assist with an abortion, meaning ordering pills for a friend under your name puts you at risk of up to three years in prison.

By contrast, in Malta, abortion remains illegal in most cases, with narrow exceptions only when a patient’s life or health is at risk and before “foetal viability”. Under the Maltese Criminal Code, procuring one’s own miscarriage or consenting to using the means by which the miscarriage is procured is punishable with up to three years in prison. With the rising costs of travelling abroad for an abortion ( between €2,000 and €3,000), cases of self-managed medical abortion in Malta have doubled between 2020 and 2024.

 

While both countries share common ground, they differ significantly in how abortion laws have developed and how the issue is discussed publicly. The first distinction lies in legal history. In Poland, during the communist era (1950s-1989), abortion was legal and widely accessible. Malta, however, has historically maintained a ban, making it one of the strictest legal frameworks in Europe.

Another difference concerns media visibility and public discourse. In Malta, abortion has become a prominent topic of public debate on TV programmes such as Popolin, in news coverage, and across social media outlets, including Lovin Malta and Freehour.

More recently, KSU ( Kunsill Studenti Universitarji)  released results from its abortion survey showing that a majority of participating university students oppose the legalisation of abortion, with around 58% against it and about 42% in favour. This indicates the university’s students’ perspective on abortion.

It is still important to consider that, regardless of progress, censorship persists; discussions have occasionally been blocked, including at the University of Malta. 

In Poland, abortion is widely debated but highly polarised due to recent legal upheaval. For example, in 2020, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled to restrict abortion further by banning most cases involving fetal abnormalities. This led to large nationwide protests organised by movements such as Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet (Women’s Strike). 

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Polish students used online classes as spaces of symbolic protest by changing their profile pictures to the red lightning bolt of Strajk Kobiet (Polish Women’s Strike) after the 2020 abortion ruling. In one case at University of Silesia a professor interrupted a lecture because a student displayed the symbol. This indicates the tensions between academic institutions and the students’ freedom of expression.

A third factor is scale. Malta’s small population and close-knit community mean sensitive topics spread quickly through word of mouth and media. In contrast, Poland’s larger population and geographic size allow opinions and activism to vary widely across regions.

“The baby weighs 485g. For now, thanks to the abortion law, I have to lie down and there’s nothing they can do. They’ll wait until it dies, or something starts, and if it doesn’t, I can expect sepsis.” – 30-year-old Izabela

Unfortunately, even in the limited cases in which abortion should be performed, it is not always the case.  Those were among the last words of 30-year-old Izabela, admitted to a local hospital in Pszczyna, Poland. She passed away, leaving her daughter without a mother.

Izabela clearly stated that she wanted to live and that she had someone to live for. Yet despite her symptoms, she was told only that she had to wait because the fetus’s heart was still beating. Eventually, contact with her was lost. She had already been given strong sedatives in the hospital and was no longer able to speak, act, or ask for help. We were unable to intervene, as we were completely cut off from both information and her.

Izabela’s death was not the only one caused by the newly-restricted law, sparking protests across the country. In 2024, the law was clarified under Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna, who introduced an additional provision allowing pregnancy termination whenever the mother’s life or health, including her mental state, is endangered.

As we are writing this article, another woman’s life is at stake.

Lela, a Georgian woman living in Poland, has been in and out of the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Olsztyn since December 2025.

Since the beginning of her pregnancy, Lela has suffered severe somatic symptoms. Now 15 weeks pregnant, her condition became critical in late February. Due to chronic inflammation and ulceration of the oesophagus, Lela began vomiting blood. Doctors responded by withdrawing her medication because of her pregnancy.

I have a husband.

I have children. 

I have people to live for. 

According to activists from the Foundation for Women and Family Planning ( FEDERA), a Polish feminist organisation, Lela repeatedly reported to the hospital for at least a month that she wanted to terminate the pregnancy for severe health reasons, which remains legal under Polish law. She has issued an official application to the hospital – both in Polish and Georgian pleading for an abortion she should legally receive. 

Notwithstanding the activists’ efforts, the hospital continues to refuse the procedure even as their patient’s condition worsens. Lela is weak, unable to walk or eat on her own, and keeps vomiting blood. 

Stories like Izabela’s and Lela’s have not gone unanswered. The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘My Voice, My Choice’ brought together more than 14 countries and 300 organisations across the EU, collecting over 1.2 million signatures calling on the EU to ensure safe and accessible abortions for all European citizens. The campaign demanded that the EU create a financial mechanism to help member states voluntarily provide safe abortion care for those who lack access. 

On 17 December 2025, a resolution in the European Parliament passed with 358 votes in favour, 202 against, and 79 abstentions.  Polish MEPs voted largely in favour. For example, Robert Biedroń (S&D) and Bartosz Arłukowicz (EPP) supported it, though some, such as Adam Bielan (ECR), voted against.

However, all of Malta’s MEPs either voted against or abstained, quite different in comparison to Poland, where at least some representatives backed the measure despite both countries’ restrictive stances on abortion. More recently, the European Commission adopted its response to the ECI, noting that almost 500,000 unsafe abortions occur in the EU every year. 

European Commissioner for Equality, Hadja Lahbib, stated that “safety and freedom must never depend on your postcode and income”. So what does this mean for women living in Malta and Poland? With the initiative in place, women will gain access to free accommodation and travel to undergo safe and legal abortions in another member state.

In conclusion, progress is being made. The “My Voice, My Choice” initiative offers a lifeline, promising financial support for women forced to travel abroad for safe, legal care. For the first time, the EU has acknowledged that access to abortion should not depend on where you live.

Yet stigma remains, in both countries, speaking openly about abortion still invites judgment and shame. Women are expected to suffer in silence, and those who break that silence risk social exclusion. Today, on International Women’s Day, millions of women in the EU still cannot make decisions about their own bodies without fear of prosecution, poverty or public condemnation.

Equality remains a founding European value. It is time it became a lived reality.

 

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