French President Emmanuel Macron called on Andorra Tuesday to “move forwards” on decriminalising abortion during a visit to the principality, which maintains one of Europe’s last total bans on abortion.
His comments come as the micro-state, nestled in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, is considering reforming its abortion laws which currently ban the procedure in all cases.
“I hope this debate moves forward,” Macron said during a visit to Andorra, where he shares the symbolic title of “co-prince” with a Catholic bishop.
In a world first, France in 2024 enshrined the right to terminate a pregnancy in its constitution, and Macron has since pledged to make the procedure a European basic right.
Women in Andorra have no legal right to abortion — even in cases of rape, incest, or danger to their life — and the procedure remains punishable by prison for both patients and doctors, though no trials have ever been held.
The Andorran head of government, Xavier Espot Zamora, on Tuesday acknowledged there was “demand” to reform the micro-state’s abortion laws, stating that his government is working toward a “negotiated solution”.
Zamora in March voiced hope that abortion would be decriminalised within a year in the non-EU state, though he clarified there were no plans for full legalisation.
But any such reform would require negotiations with the Vatican, which enforces Europe’s only other ban on abortions in all cases.
Pregnancy termination is legal in almost all European countries, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) advocacy group says.
A handful of countries have near-total bans, broadly only allowing it when a woman’s life is in danger, it says.
The latter include the principalities of Monaco and Liechtenstein, as well as EU states Malta and Poland.
