Luxembourg enshrines abortion as constitutional right

Lawmakers in Luxembourg officially enshrined abortion as a constitutional "freedom" after a vote in Parliament on June 16.

Key Takeaways:

• Lawmakers in Parliament voted June 16 to enshrine abortion as a constitutional 'freedom.'

• The procedural vote occurred three months after an initial approval in March.

• Luxembourg is now the second country, following France, to declare a constitutional right to abortion.

The Details:

According to the Luxembourg Times, lawmakers voted 51-6, with two abstentions, in favor of putting the 'freedom' of "voluntary abortion" into the nation's constitution.

The vote adds Article 15 of the nation's constitution, reading:

The freedom to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy is guaranteed. The law determines the conditions under which this freedom is exercised. 

The procedural vote occurred three months after an initial approval in March. In the country, constitutional amendments require two votes at least three months apart, each with a two-thirds majority without proxy voting.

“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that we are making history today,” said Marc Baum, from the left-wing Déi Lénk party.

Lawmaker Gérard Schockmel, who voted against the measure, said it did not take into account the rights of the preborn, while calling the push for the amendment “feminist ideology.”

Zoom Out:

Luxembourg is now the second country to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, following France, which made its declaration in 2024.

Lawmakers say the vote does not change the country's current abortion law, which allows abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, but will make it harder to pass future laws restricting abortion.

However, in the United States, abortion advocates have sought the overturn of nearly all preborn protections and abortion restrictions in states that have enacted constitutional protections for abortion. In many cases, the courts have agreed.

The Bottom Line:

Regardless of what lawmakers or a court may say, there is never a "right" to kill an innocent human being. Freedom does not give one license to take the life of the preborn child.