The Vatican reiterated its opposition to abortion on Monday, as French lawmakers prepared to enshrine the right in the country’s constitution, a world 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,” the Vatican organization stated in a statement, echoing concerns previously expressed by French Catholic bishops.
It called on “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 said.
A congress of both French houses of parliament in Versailles was set to vote on Monday to put abortion rights in the country’s constitution.
Abortion has been legal in France since 1975. However, if lawmakers accept the latest proposal, France will become the only country in the world to explicitly safeguard the right to terminate a pregnancy in its basic law.
Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, has previously described abortion as “murder”.