Credit: Planning Familial via Facebook

The Planning Familial centre has announced a rally calling for the inclusion of the right to abortion in the Luxembourg Constitution.

The demonstration will take place in front of the Chamber of Deputies in Luxembourg-Ville on Monday 15 September 2025 at 09:00.

Organised in collaboration with CID | Fraen an Gender and other partners of the Luxembourg feminist network, the event invites “all concerned, supportive and determined persons” to gather outside parliament.

On the same day, the parliamentary committee on institutions (Commission des institutions) will meet to discuss what the organisers described as “a historic step forward”: the explicit inclusion of the right to abortion in the Luxembourg Constitution. Currently, abortion - or voluntary termination of pregnancy (VTP) - is legal in the Grand Duchy under certain conditions, generally up to the twelfth week of pregnancy.

In May 2024, Déi Lénk (the Left) MP Marc Baum introduced a bill aimed at revising Article 15 of the Constitution to include the following (translated from French): “The right to voluntary termination of pregnancy and the right to contraception are guaranteed. The law determines the conditions under which free and effective access to these rights is exercised.”

Earlier last year, France became the first country in the world to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right - a move prompted by developments in the United States, where the Supreme Court had removed the right to abortion two years earlier.

On 1 July 2025, Luxembourg’s Council of State issued its opinion on Marc Baum’s proposal, also referencing US events. It stated: “At present, the introduction of a specific provision relating to the rights to abortion and contraception in the Constitution does not in principle entail a paradigm shift in this area nor does it make it necessary to modify the regulations applicable to abortion”.

It added: “The Council of State considers that enshrining the right to abortion in the Constitution would guarantee more lasting legal protection, preventing regressions in this fundamental right, such as those recently observed in certain states, especially since the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy is insufficiently protected in international law”.

Luxembourg’s Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CCDH) had issued a similarly positive opinion in December 2024.

Ahead of the rally and parliamentary committee meeting, Planning Familial stated: “This is a crucial opportunity to take a decisive step toward the real and lasting protection of this fundamental right”, which it said “must no longer depend on ordinary legislation”.

The organisers added: “We demand a clear and strong commitment: to guarantee all people the right to make free decisions about their own bodies.”

The rally's stated demands are to:

  • Constitutionally protect the right to abortion: guarantee every woman solid legal security and equality in access to sexual and reproductive health;
  • Affirm women’s autonomy and choice: recognise the freedom to decide about one’s own body as a fundamental human right;
  • Prevent any legislative regression: secure this right against future political and social uncertainties;
  • Mobilise civil society: make the Constitution a reflection of the values of equality and justice that are the foundation of a modern democracy.

“In a European and international context where sexual and reproductive rights remain fragile and sometimes called into question, Luxembourg has the historic opportunity to assert a clear and progressive position,” Planning Familial concluded. “We call on citizens, associations, collectives and social partners to join this peaceful mobilisation. Together, let us send a strong message: that of a society that places the equality, dignity and autonomy of women at the heart of its democracy.”

For further details about the rally, visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/786306660397296

In parallel with national efforts, a major European citizens' initiative is also gaining momentum. On Monday 1 September 2025, the "My Voice, My Choice" campaign formally delivered its petition - backed by more than 1.2 million validated signatures - to the European Commission. The initiative seeks to secure safe and accessible abortion across the European Union. It has called on the Commission to “submit a proposal for financial support to Member States that would be able to perform safe termination of pregnancies, in accordance with their domestic law, for anyone in Europe who still lacks access to safe and legal abortion."

In Luxembourg, at the time of writing, the initiative had secured 2,821 statements of support, representing 66.69% of the national threshold of 4,230 signatures required.