The Vatican reiterated its stance against abortion on Monday as French lawmakers prepared to enshrine the right to abortion in the country’s constitution, a global first.
“The Pontifical Academy for Life recalls that in the era of universal human rights, there can be no ‘right’ to take a human life,” stated the Vatican institution, echoing concerns voiced by French Catholic bishops.
It called upon “all governments and all religious traditions to do their best so that, in this phase of history, the protection of life becomes an absolute priority.”
“The particular life situations and difficult and tragic contexts of our time must be addressed on the basis of a law which seeks above all to protect the weakest and most vulnerable,” the statement added.
A joint session of the French parliament in Versailles was expected to vote on Monday to incorporate the right to abortion into the country’s constitution.
Abortion has been legal in France since 1975. However, if the proposed amendment is approved, France would become the only country in the world to explicitly safeguard the right to terminate a pregnancy in its fundamental law.
Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, has previously condemned abortion as “murder.”
