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The right to abortion remains a controversial issue and a subject of cultural and religious challenges and conflicts to universal human rights. Within the European Union (EU), this right is affected by a variety of factors. National laws, cultural norms, and political ideologies shape the lively debate, which is the basis for the existence of various laws and regulations within the EU. At the center of this debate is the discussion of women's rights and reproductive autonomy. The fight for abortion rights is primarily about asserting the right to take responsibility for one's own bodily integrity and reproductive decisions. This includes access to legal and safe abortion services. However, the legal conditions for this vary greatly across the member states of the European Union. This paper examines the debate surrounding the right to abortion through the lens of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case M.L. v. Poland (2023) and addresses the question of discrimination under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is at the center of the case. In particular, it examines how the right to abortion can be reconciled with the principle of proportionality. The debate on abortion rights in the European Union is multi-layered and has social, legal, and political implications. First of all, abortion rights are a human rights issue. Reproductive autonomy and a woman's right to self-determination are fundamental human rights enshrined in international conventions and the European Convention on Human Rights. The M.L. v. Poland case addresses the issues that arise when national laws and cultural norms conflict with European and international human rights standards. The proportionality test for abortion rights involves basic ethical questions about life, autonomy, and societal moral obligations to individuals. Research addressing this question will contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interconnections of the issues surrounding the right to abortion and to identifying possible ways in which the European Union and individual Member States can find harmonious and just solutions to the right to abortion.
Jun et al. (2024) studied this question.