D66 wants access to abortion to become a human right

The D66 wants the Netherlands to promote the right to abortion internationally. Women everywhere in Europe should be able to have a safe and affordable abortion, say D66 MPs Sjoerd Sjoerdsma and Wieke Paulusma.

They believe this is possible if access to abortion is preserved as a human right in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. To this end, the D66 members are submitting an initiative memorandum to the Tweede Kamer.

"Every year, 39,000 women die worldwide as a result of unsafe abortion. This is a city the size of Wageningen. This is impossible. The Netherlands must take the lead to fight these abuses and fight for accessible and safe abortion care in the world," Sjoerdsma said.

Furthermore, D66 wants the Netherlands to provide money for pregnant women from abroad if they are not allowed to have abortions in their own country. About 3,000 pregnant women from abroad come to the Netherlands every year to have abortions, Sjoerdsma said. For this, D66 proposes to provide 3 million euros that organizations can use to help these women get into an abortion clinic in the Netherlands.

D66 also demands that abortion assistance should be part of emergency aid in conflict areas. Women there are often victims of sexual violence. The MPs point out that this is precisely why it is important that women who have been raped have access to the "morning-after pill" or an abortion pill. The D66 members believe these pills should be included by default in the emergency packages that go to these countries.

The European Parliament also called this year for the right to abortion to be recognized as a fundamental right.

"If men could become pregnant, abortion would have been a human right for a long time," Sjoerdsma said. "The situation that arose in America after Roe vs. Wade was undone, shows how important it is to anchor this right."