Dobbs in the EU Not Just An American Story

EU leaders and institutions have reacted strongly to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs, which overturned Roe v. Wade and held that the right to abortion was not consitutionally protected. Shortly after the decision was made public, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Dobbs, and calling for the right to abortion to be included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Including a right to abortion in the Charter may take years, and may never happen, as amendments to the Charter will require the ratification by each Member State. The impulse behind the resolution is, however, entirely justified. Despite the fact that Member States have overall liberalized their legal regimes regulating abortion, many legal and informal obstacles still remain on the ground. Rather than seeing Dobbs as an ‘American phenomenon’, as a specific, historically-situated product of the ongoing US ‘culture wars,’ it should serve as a reminder that the right to abortion remains fragile in the European Union, too.