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My Voice, My Choice
The PUSH Campaign is about mobilising people from across sectors, countries and groups to advocate for woman-centred care. Today we are featuring a successful campaign from Europe that built a movement for reproductive health and rights, to inspire PUSH campaigners and advocates in the art of the (im)possible.
In a remarkable feat of cross-border solidarity and grassroots organising, the My Voice, My Choice campaign has successfully gathered over 1.2 million signatures in 27 countries to support a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) advocating for accessible, equitable abortion care across Europe. We spoke with Tina Tomšič, one of the campaign’s core organisers, about how the movement took shape, what made it work, and what comes next.
Genesis of the Campaign
My Voice My Choice is an EU-wide movement. It was born out of an idea that came from a Slovenian organisation called Institute 8th of March, which has campaigned for equality and human rights since 2016. Their home country Slovenia is one of the most liberal countries for abortion access in Central Europe, one women regularly travel to for comprehensive abortion services.
When the director of Institute 8th of March Nika Kovač studied in the USA, she witnessed how constitutional reproductive rights were taken away from women overnight as she stayed there when Roe v. Wade was overturned. In solidarity, the Institute became interested in moving the dial to protect the right to abortion and access to comprehensive abortion services across the EU, “We were looking for ways to make real change around access to abortion in Europe—not just raise awareness. That’s when we found out about the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) mechanism. With ECI, you need a million signatures across the EU and seven national signature thresholds to call on the European Commission to propose a new policy. So we formed a team of international lawyers who helped draft the proposal. We proposed a financial mechanism to cover abortion costs for people who must travel or don’t have insurance—including refugees and asylum seekers.”
The initiative was registered, and the campaign officially started the signature collection in April 2024, with 12 months to collect all the necessary signatures. Signature collection was organised online and in-person at collection points throughout the EU in multiple languages. EU citizens old enough to vote in European elections were allowed to participate.
The campaign closed its signature collection in April 2025 with over 1.2 million signatures collected in 27 countries.
Building a Coalition: Values, Openness, and Adaptability
A significant part of the campaign’s success came from building broad and inclusive coalitions, “For us, it was crucial to include anyone who shared the same values as us. You don’t need to agree with everyone on every topic, but if you share the same values—reproductive rights—you can work together,” Tina shares. “We had Christians, men, people from all walks of life fighting for access to abortion.”
Being agile and adapting to changing circumstances was also critical. Early on, organisers thought they would get big NGOs in a few countries to collect the signatures through their networks, which did not work in all of the countries, “So we changed our strategy early, and started reaching out to individuals and smaller organisations across Europe. We started working with a more grassroots approach: we made a call for volunteers and built a community that collected signatures on the streets of towns and cities all across Europe.”
Cross-Sector Alliances
Strategic partnerships played a pivotal role, including surprising alliances with youth networks, climate activists, and health professionals.
“We worked with one of the organisers of the Fridays for Future, climate activist and politician Louisa Neubauer in Germany. Her endorsement brought in 30,000 signatures in just a few days. We also involved midwives' associations and gynaecologists, particularly in places like Slovenia and Malta.”
Public figures were also critical in amplifying the campaign’s visibility and reach.
“A popular singer in southern Europe, Severina, was incredible—she helped us reach the Croatian threshold and stayed involved all the way. In Greece, we partnered with the most popular TV personality, Natasa Giamali. In Romania, a Vice President of the EU Parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță took the campaign into the streets to collect paper-based influencers.”
Tina adds, “We even messaged influencers randomly on social media if we thought they might support the cause. Many of them did.”
Communication Strategy: Humour, Honesty, and Global Awareness
Social media was key to the Campaign’s success. “We used honesty and humour in our communication, to make people want to join. Our posts have reached people far outside the EU, in the United States, India, even Australia.”
Beyond serious messages about reproductive rights, the team shared memes about being tired, political commentary, and solidarity posts with global movements, “We believe the political environment impacts reproductive rights everywhere. People connected because we showed who we are, not just what we do.”
Local Leadership and Infrastructure
Overarchingly, the Campaigned used WhatsApp to organise the network, “we had country-specific group chats and volunteer communities. We even built a website to match activists by location.”
However, each country required a tailored approach. “In Finland, Naisasialiitto Unioni, the League of Finnish Feminists, mobilised almost all of that country’s civil society. In Italy, we partnered with one of the largest civil society groups, Associazione Luca Coscioni for street-level collection of paper petitions. In Austria, we partnered with #aufstehn and a wider Feminist network of local organisations and in Czechia with the Chech Women’s Lobby, as well as with Ciocia Czesia, who organised collections of signatures in the streets, together with volunteers of the campaign.”
Tina concludes clearly, “This campaign could not have worked without local leadership, who had freedom to implement the campaign. We kept the campaign messaging centralised—key visuals, timelines, core communication. But when it came to local events or how influencers posted, we let people express things in their own voices.”
Common values are also critical for the Campaign’s success, “We’re inclusive of trans people and strongly believe in gender equality. It’s about creating safe, welcoming spaces. Our core team is our anchor, but we’re always open to new people and ideas, while remaining true to our core values.”
Sustaining Momentum Post-Campaign
Now that the signatures are in, what’s next?
“After national authorities verify the signatures, we’ll submit them to the European Commission. They have a month to respond. That’s when the real campaign begins.”
They plan continued advocacy, awareness-raising, and possibly even relocating some of the team to Brussels, “We want to make decision-makers uncomfortable—by taking up public space with protests, banners, and human presence.”
Key Lessons for Future Campaigners
Tina offers advice to others trying to start movements, “Campaigns are incredibly hard. You need to be adaptable - things don’t always go as planned. Always be thinking ahead about the next step. At one point in our campaign, we had contacted every civil society group we could, and we still needed more signatures. So we pivoted to social media influencers and started working in a grassroots way, with the help of our wonderful volunteers. That worked.”
She adds, “Don’t let your plan get in the way of your purpose. Build a movement where people feel like it’s their movement, too.”
Midwives and Abortion Care: A Call to Action
When asked about midwives’ roles, Tina doesn’t hesitate: “Midwives are vital. They’re with women before, during, and after reproductive health procedures, ensuring woman-centred care. Even when they are in a multi-disciplinary team, midwives are key. They should be part of this work, not just as woman-centred care providers, but as advocates.”
My Voice, My Choice exemplifies how a grassroots campaign, when well-organised and values-driven, can create real momentum—even across borders. With tenacity, adaptability, and heart, they have ignited a new movement for reproductive justice in Europe.
