The Government of Andorra already has a closed proposal to decriminalize abortion, but is keeping the project on hold while talks with the Holy See continue. After a long period of discreet negotiations with Rome, the Minister of Institutional Relations, Education and Universities, Ladislau Baró, acknowledged this Monday that the legislative text is fully drafted and ready to move forward once the current dialogue process concludes.
According to La Veu Lliure, Baró stated that “there is already a closed regulatory proposal” and that “all the technical and philosophical aspects are written and prepared.” However, he made it clear that the Government will not take the next step yet and that the ongoing conversations with the Holy See must first be completed.
The issue gained momentum last April during French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Andorra. In his capacity as co-prince, Macron placed the decriminalization of abortion among the priority issues on his agenda and addressed the matter in his meetings with Andorran authorities.
A finished law awaiting the outcome of the negotiations
The minister’s statements confirm that the process has entered a decisive phase. After several meetings between Andorran representatives and Vatican officials in recent months, the text to decriminalize abortion is already complete. What remains open is the political and institutional negotiation accompanying the reform.
Baró explained that a few more working sessions are still needed before the dialogue can be considered concluded and it can be assessed whether the proposal allows the Andorran Government to achieve its objectives. Among these is the desire to decriminalize women regarding abortion without altering the institutional balance of the Principality.
The Government insists that the final decision belongs to Andorra
During his appearance, the minister stressed that the ultimate decision does not rest with the Holy See. “It is not that the Holy See has the decision on this matter; rather, the decision lies with the Consell General and the Government must present the initiative,” he said.
Nevertheless, the fact that the project remains stalled despite being fully drafted highlights the importance that the talks with Rome continue to hold regarding one of the most sensitive issues of the current Andorran legislature.
An open negotiation with the Vatican
The dialogue between Andorra and the Holy See on a possible decriminalization of abortion is not new, but the conversations have intensified during the current legislature, especially following the meetings between the Andorran Government and the Vatican Secretariat of State.
One of the most significant moments took place in October 2025, when the head of Government, Xavier Espot, Minister Ladislau Baró and the Andorran ambassador to the Holy See met in the Vatican with Cardinal Pietro Parolin. After that meeting, both sides expressed their willingness to continue working to find a formula that would allow progress on the decriminalization of abortion without altering the institutional framework of the Principality.
Since then, the Andorran Government has repeatedly insisted that the process requires discretion and time. In fact, Baró publicly acknowledged that the initially planned timelines were overly optimistic and that Rome had requested prudence before any public move.
An issue that must be resolved during this legislature
This Monday, the patient-waiting stance was set aside; although he avoided setting a specific timetable, Baró affirmed that the debate on the decriminalization of abortion must be settled during the current legislature. The minister expressed confidence that there is still room to find a satisfactory solution and assured that Andorra is “very far” from any scenario of institutional rupture.
The Andorran official’s words come after years of contacts between the Government of the Principality and the Holy See, in a process marked by discretion and repeated delays. With the text already drafted, attention now turns to the outcome of negotiations whose resolution the Holy See has long delayed in Andorra.