The National Women’s Council (NWC) is pushing a European Citizens’ Initiative to gather one million signatures to demand easier access to abortion across the EU.

The aim is to circumvent restrictions on abortion in some states by paying for people to have the procedure done in other, more permissive states.

The ‘My Voice, My Choice’ petition asks the European Commission to “submit a proposal for financial support to Member States that would be able to perform safe termination of pregnancies for anyone in Europe who still lacks access to safe and legal abortion.”

NWC director Orla O’Connor said: “Across Europe, more than 20 million women do not have access to abortion. Here in Ireland, in spite of the success of Repeal, hundreds of women are still forced to travel abroad for care.

“The mandatory three day wait, 12-week limit, and ongoing criminalisation of medics all feed into this situation.

“That’s why we’re joining with sister organisations in Slovenia, France, Spain, Finland, Poland, Austria and Croatia to demand reproductive justice across the continent.”