Abortion in Andorra is illegal in all cases; the Co-Princes of Andorra are the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, who is required to adhere to Roman Catholic teaching on pregnancy. Around 88% of its population identifies as Roman Catholic.
Andorra, along with Vatican City, are the only two European countries where abortion is completely illegal.[1]
The Constitution of Andorra states:[2]
Article 8
1. The Constitution recognises the right to life and fully protects it in its different phases.
2. All persons have the right to physical and moral integrity. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
3. The death penalty is prohibited.
The Penal Code (Code Pénal) prohibits a number of offences against prenatal human life (contre la vie humaine prénatale) alongside offences against independent human life after birth (contre la vie humaine indépendante).[3] Article 107 states, in relation to forced abortion:
Whoever causes the abortion of a woman without her consent must be punished with a prison sentence of four to ten years and disqualification any health profession for up to ten years.
Article 108 outlaws abortion with consent:
Whoever causes the abortion of a woman with her consent must be punished with a prison sentence of three months to three years and disqualification from practising any health profession for a period of up to five years.
Article 109 adds:
Whoever by serious recklessness causes an abortion must be punished with a penalty of arrest or a fine of up to €30,000.
Article 120 protects the unborn child from other forms of assault:
Any person who causes in an implanted embryo or in a foetus a lesion or disease seriously impairing his development or causing him physical or psychological defect persisting beyond birth must be punished with a prison sentence of three months to three years and disqualification from practising any health profession for up to six years.
The law has no explicit exceptions to its prohibitions.[4] However, under the double effect principle in Catholic medical ethics, an intervention which would unintentionally cause the death of an unborn child is permitted where this would save the life of a pregnant woman (for example, in the ending of an ectopic pregnancy).[5][6][7]
The Stop Violències movement led by the psychologist Vanessa Mendoza Cortés campaigns against gender-based violence and for the legislation of abortion in Andorra.[8][9]
In 2018, Pope Francis intervened in the debate by stating that the approval of any legalisation would result in the abdication of Bishop Joan Enric Vives Sicília as Co-Prince.[10]
Women in Andorra who choose to terminate a pregnancy usually travel to either neighboring SpainorFrance where abortion is widely available.[11]
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