Luxembourg has become the second country in Europe to enshrine the “freedom to abort” in its constitution, following the precedent set by France in 2024.
The Luxembourg unicameral legislature approved establishing the “freedom to abort” in the constitution on March 1 with a large parliamentary majority in a 48-6 vote with two abstentions.
The amendment to the constitution comes four years after the strengthening of the 1978 legislation that originally permitted abortion in the country. The effort was initiated by the left-wing party Déi Lénk with a proposal presented in 2024, which was subsequently approved by the Council of State.
A number of French-speaking countries refer to abortion with the euphemism “voluntary interruption of pregnancy,” or IVG by its French acronym.
Following the debate prior to the measureʼs approval, it was decided to include the phrase “freedom to abort” in the text instead of “right to an abortion.” This choice establishes the legality of abortion, albeit subject to certain legal limitations.
Its incorporation into the constitution also grants it greater legal protection than that afforded by ordinary laws.
‘Every human being possesses an inalienable dignity’
In September 2025 the countryʼs bishops expressed their disagreement with the constitutional initiative and emphasized that “every human being possesses an inalienable and indispensable dignity at every stage of life, even before birth.”
On behalf of the Catholic Church in the country, they reiterated that human dignity and the protection of life “are inextricably joined together” and that the inclusion of this supposed public freedom in the constitution “represents a shift in the ethical and legal paradigm.”
They denounced the fact that the starting point for legalizing abortion is the womanʼs right to self-determination over her own body, meaning that the fetus ceases to be distinguished “in any meaningful way as a separate human being.”
“The right to life of the unborn child is relegated to a secondary level compared to the womanʼs right to self-determination,” they lamented.
In this context, the prelates emphasized that “creating a legal framework that simply allows individuals to pursue their own life projects in a self-determined manner cannot be the sole consideration.”
They therefore proposed promoting a balance between family and work, fostering a shared approach to parenting, supporting single parents, preventing child poverty, and guaranteeing equal rights in the workplace.
In their view, establishing a fundamental right to abortion in the constitution “promotes the logic of the law of the strongest” and they argued that the problems and crises many families face during pregnancy could be resolved without amending the constitution.
Currently, abortion is legal in Luxembourg up to 12 weeks of gestation. Furthermore, in July 2025 certain requirements were eliminated such as the mandatory three-day waiting period and the pre-abortion counseling session.
Other European countries could be poised to follow the example of France and Luxembourg, as is the case in Spain, after the Council of State endorsed its inclusion as a right in the constitution last February.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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