The Left Party (Déi Lénk) has submitted a proposal to enshrine the rights to contraception and abortion within Luxembourg's Constitution.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the Left Party announced that MP Marc Baum had submitted a proposal for the amendment of Article 15 of the Constitution. The aim is to formalise the rights to abortion and contraception within the constitutional framework, with a view to strengthening women's rights.
"The right to contraception and abortion represent significant milestones in the feminist movement," stated the Left Party. However, amidst the current political landscape, these hard-fought rights face opposition from conservative and right-wing factions. By enshrining these rights in the Constitution, the Left Party asserts, they would receive additional protection, as constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority, making it more difficult to challenge them.
The Left Party highlighted France as a recent precedent, noting its historic decision to enshrine abortion rights in its Constitution, making it the second country in history to do so and the sole existing one. Previously, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had been the only nation globally to include the right to abortion in its constitution, a move dating back to 1974.
A public petition advocating for the incorporation of these fundamental rights into the Luxembourg Constitution has been open for signatures since Tuesday morning, available until 17 June on the Chamber of Deputies website.
