The Planning Familial Luxembourg, CID Fraen an Gender, National Council of Women of Luxembourg (Conseil National des Femmes du Luxembourg - CNFL) and the International Women's Day platform (Journée Internationale des Femmes - JIF) have announced a sit-in protest in front of the Embassy of the United States (US) on Tuesday 28 June 2022 at 12:30.

The planned sit-in protest at 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, Luxembourg-Ville, is in relation to the recent US Supreme Court judgement to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe vs Wade abortion ruling. The protest organisers called for all those concerned to voice their anger for equality and for all women deprived of self-determination over their bodies and therefore over their reproductive, personal, social and professional future.

The end of Roe vs. Wade

The US Supreme Court has just challenged the judgment which guaranteed the right to abortion. This is a huge setback for abortion, in the United States and around the world. Every time the right to abortion is attacked somewhere, the shock wave spreads to other countries.

In addition to refusing abortion to women, including raped Ukrainians, Poland is going to introduce a new regulations on the information that doctors can collect and record on their patients, including information on possible pregnancies, which raises concerns about the use of this data in an already fragile context.

The Friday evening announcement of the dismantling of the “Roe v. Wade”, guaranteeing the right to abortion in the United States since 1973, cannot leave Planning Familial Luxembourg unmoved, the organisers stated.

This threat had been hanging over women's rights for weeks, but it had been there for years. Despite its predictability, the announcement is no less revolting. It touches all women and reminds us of the extent of the conservative threat to women's rights around the world.

This announcement also shows that we must always advance the right to abortion because, as soon as we do not advance it, it goes back. Simone de Beauvoir rightly said that “women's rights are never acquired. We must remain vigilant throughout our lives”.

This is also why Planning Familial is asking the Luxembourg Government to include the right to abortion in the Constitution. It is a question of equality. This right is not part of the fundamental rights of women in Luxembourg. A law partially decriminalised abortion in 2014 and made it possible to abolish the second compulsory consultation for women wishing to end their pregnancy, but the US ruling shows that this is not enough and that everything can change!

As we mourn with American women, Planned Parenthood calls for:

  • The inclusion of the right to abortion in the Luxembourg constitution and the deletion of article 1 of the law on abortion which begins as follows: Art. 1er.. The law guarantees respect for every human being from the beginning of life. This principle can only be infringed in case of necessity and according to the conditions defined by this law.
  • Authorisation of abortion up to fourteen weeks of pregnancy and access to all women with or without a health fund.
  • The removal of the reflection period. Currently, it is three days in Luxembourg, however, the organisers are unanimous: this delay is often unnecessary, infantilising and contemptuous for women and complicates the support of professionals. The Netherlands, France and soon Belgium, and many European countries simply delete it!
  • The establishment of an offense of obstruction of abortion in the event of disruption in access to premises, to information on the termination of pregnancy, through the exercise of moral and psychological pressure and intimidation of health professionals. The anti-choice adopt a proactive approach which, since targeted and intrusive including in the activities towards the youngest, would finally constitute an offence of obstruction to the IVG.

Finally, let us also remember that the abortion rate in countries that prohibit abortion and that in countries that allow abortion, have a negligible difference from a statistical point of view. We cannot prevent the practice of abortions in the world. Its delegalisation undeniably leads to the re-clandestination of abortion!

The Board of Directors also announced the general meeting of Planning Familial on Tuesday 28 June 2022 at 18:30 at its premises at 6, rue de la Fonderie in Luxembourg-Ville.