The Government of Andorra has approved a bill to eliminate penalties against women who have abortions, following years of talks with the Holy See. The reform, presented on Wednesday, October 28, maintains sanctions against healthcare professionals who perform abortions, but represents a significant change in the legislation of one of the last European countries that still maintains a general ban on this practice.
The initiative, promoted by Xavier Espot’s government, amends Article 117 of the Criminal Code to establish that a woman who consents to, requests, or assists in her own abortion “shall not be punishable.” The bill must be approved by the Consell General, the Andorran Parliament, before it enters into force.
The decision comes after several delays and contacts with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in a process marked by the search for a formula that would allow the abortion legislation to be modified without compromising the continuity of the Co-Principality, the institution in which the Bishop of Urgel shares the head of state with the President of France.
Women will no longer be punished, but abortion will remain a crime for those who perform it
The Minister of Institutional Relations, Education and Universities, Ladislau Baró, presented the reform after its approval by the Council of Ministers.
According to the official statement from the Andorran Government, the amendment removes the criminal liability of a woman who voluntarily terminates her pregnancy.
The Government, however, maintains penalties for those who cause an abortion with the woman’s consent. These include between three months and three years in prison and disqualification from practicing healthcare professions for up to five years.
Baró justified the reform by stating that the protection of life enshrined in Article 8 of the Andorran Constitution “cannot entail the criminalization of women.”
The minister argued that the measure responds to the electoral commitment of Demòcrates per Andorra and will allow the legal situation of women to be modified without altering the constitutional principles that underpin the institutional system of the Principality.
The reform also does not include funding for abortion by the Andorran Social Security Fund (CASS), so these procedures will continue to be excluded from public healthcare benefits.
Although the Government insists that this is not a legalization of abortion, the change removes one of the criminal liabilities previously included in Andorran law by excluding from punishment the woman who requests or consents to the termination of her pregnancy.
The reform comes after years of talks with the Holy See
The approval of the bill marks a new step in a process that dates back to 2019 and has been marked by contacts between the Andorran Government and the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin has been one of Rome’s main interlocutors on this issue. Over the years, both sides have explored different legal formulas to modify abortion legislation without triggering an institutional crisis in the Co-Principality.
Last July, Parolin received the head of government, Xavier Espot, and Minister Ladislau Baró at the Vatican, in a meeting aimed at continuing talks on decriminalization.
Following the meeting, the Government announced that it was preparing the reform for September, although the timetable was again delayed.
Finally, in early October, decriminalization entered its final stretch, after years of contacts and successive delays.
The formula now approved by the Council of Ministers coincides with the solution that, according to La Veu Lliure, would have been agreed with the Holy See: removing criminal liability from the woman, maintaining penalties against healthcare professionals, and excluding public funding for abortion.
During the presentation of the bill, Baró described the contacts with Rome as an institutional dialogue rather than a formal negotiation. The Holy See, for its part, has not publicly confirmed its approval of the legislative text.
The Bishop of Urgel could refuse to sanction the law
The reform once again places the Bishop of Urgel, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat, in a delicate position, as he serves as co-prince of Andorra alongside the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron.
The uniqueness of this institutional system has for years conditioned any attempt to modify abortion legislation, given the Catholic Church’s opposition to the practice.
Church doctrine establishes that human life must be respected and protected from conception and considers induced abortion a grave moral offense. This teaching, set out in paragraphs 2270 and 2271 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, forms the basis of Catholic opposition to the deliberate elimination of human life before birth.
According to information published during the talks, one of the formulas considered involves the episcopal co-prince not sanctioning the future law, while the French co-prince allows its promulgation.
Baró acknowledged during the presentation of the bill that there is a possibility that the Bishop of Urgel may not sign the law. However, he explained that this circumstance would not necessarily prevent it from entering into force, as Andorran law provides mechanisms for a law to be sanctioned by only one of the co-princes.
If this scenario is confirmed, Serrano Pentinat would maintain his refusal to sanction a legislative amendment relating to abortion, although this would not necessarily prevent the reform from entering into force.
A limited decriminalization that modifies the legal protection of the unborn
The formula finally approved distinguishes between the criminal liability of the woman and that of those who perform the abortion.
The Government maintains the ban on performing abortions in Andorran territory and retains sanctions for healthcare professionals, but removes the possibility of punishing the woman who requests or consents to the procedure.
The amendment therefore represents a reduction in the scope of criminal protection previously provided by the Principality’s legislation regarding induced abortion.
This distinction has also drawn criticism from organizations in favor of legalizing abortion, who consider the reform insufficient because it does not allow these procedures to be performed in the country’s healthcare centers or include public funding.
The Government, for its part, presents the bill as a solution compatible with the Constitution and the continuity of the Co-Principality, although the law must still pass through parliamentary procedure.
The bill will be processed through an urgent procedure
Andorra has maintained one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws for decades, a situation closely linked to its unique constitutional configuration and the presence of a Catholic bishop as head of state.
The reform approved by the Government does not completely eliminate criminal penalties, but modifies one of its elements by excluding from liability the woman who consents to or requests the termination of her pregnancy.
The bill will be processed through an urgent procedure in the Consell General, which will halve parliamentary deadlines. The Government hopes it can be approved before the end of the legislative term, with the next general elections scheduled for spring 2027.
The Council of Ministers’ decision thus opens the parliamentary phase of a reform that has for years conditioned relations between Andorra and the Holy See. The vote on the text and the position the episcopal co-prince will take when it comes time to sanction the law remain pending.