Parliament opens debate on constitutional abortion rights

The initiative was tabled by Marc Baum of The Left (déi Lénk), who insisted that abortion rights should be anchored in the Constitution. After the meeting, he said he was willing to work towards compromises and adjust the wording if necessary. With the exception of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), he added, most parties had already clarified their stance.

CSV MP Laurent Zeimet confirmed that his group had not yet taken a decision. He explained that the parliamentary procedure had only just started, stressing that Monday was not a voting day. Each parliamentary group and individual MP, he said, would now take the time to examine the text carefully before forming a position.

The Democratic Party (DP) expressed its support in principle but emphasised that the formulation of the text still needed work.

Party president Carole Hartmann welcomed Baum's openness to negotiating the wording. She underlined that, for the DP, abortion should not be treated as a "banal medical act", and that this perspective should be included in the discussions.

For Sam Tanson of The Greens (déi Gréng), it was encouraging that neither coalition partner had rejected the proposal outright.

She expressed hope that movement would also come from the CSV and that a compromise text could be found. The exact wording did not have to be Baum's original draft, she argued, as long as the final version secured a constitutional guarantee of enforceable rights for women.

Parliamentary leader Taina Bofferding of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) hoped that the CSV would soon communicate a clear stance.

She said that while the formulation of the text could be discussed later, the CSV could already have signalled whether it supported the principle. The LSAP, she stressed, fully backed the initiative because it was essential to ensure that abortion rights remained protected.

She warned that events around the world had shown how quickly human rights could come under threat, and for that reason Luxembourg needed to enshrine abortion rights in its Constitution.

By contrast, MP Fred Keup of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) argued that there was no need to include abortion rights in the Constitution and announced that his party would therefore vote against such a text.

Demonstration outside Parliament

Ahead of Monday's committee session, around 70 demonstrators gathered outside Parliament to call for abortion rights to be constitutionally protected. The rally was organised by Planning Familial.