Yes, abortion should be enshrined in the constitution!
In recent weeks, there has been repeated talk in the government and also in the opposition parties about enshrining abortion in the constitution. Volt already supported this demand in 2023 and has a clear position on it.
Our statement remains the same. In our election manifesto for the 2023 Chamber elections, we said and demanded the following, with which we continue to fully agree:
Unfortunately, conservative tendencies can be observed in more and more countries around the world, which has a major impact on women's rights. In June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 “Roe v. Wade” ruling. With the decision of the constitutional judges, states can now largely or even completely ban abortions. Conservative-ruled states immediately took action. In Europe, too, voices have been heard for some time again opposing women's abortion rights. In 2003, Croatia amended its abortion law and since then doctors have had the right to refuse the procedure on grounds of conscience. For this reason, more and more Croatian women now travel to Slovenia to have abortions in the neighbouring country. In November 2020, Poland also tightened its abortion laws, which were already considered very strict: Abortions in the case of malformations are now considered illegal.
We at Volt are watching these activities with horror. Women have long fought for these rights, which they are now suddenly being asked to give up. Not to mention the fact that strict bans are giving rise to illegal practices that put the lives of aborting women at great risk (both for medical and economic reasons).
The right to abortion is one of the fundamental rights of every woman and pregnant person. We do not want to risk that with a sudden change of government; this fundamental right can suddenly disappear. Therefore, we demand that the right to abortion be included in the Luxembourg constitution (we believe it should be in every European constitution). Our proposal would add a sentence to Article 12 on individual freedom:
No one shall be deprived of the right to a voluntary termination of pregnancy, and no one shall be deprived of the right to a voluntary termination of pregnancy with a maximum exercise period of less than 12 weeks' gestation. (“Nul ne saurait se voir dépourvu du droit à l’interruption volontaire de grossesse et nul ne peut être privé du droit à l'interruption volontaire de grossesse avec un délai maximal d'exercice inférieur à 12 semaines de grossesse.”)