Image – Shutterstock: Prince Albert II of Monaco
A European Catholic monarch has overruled a plan to provide abortions in his country proposed by its national assembly. Prince Albert II of Monaco has declined to sign a bill passed by the National Council that would have legalised the provision of abortion in the Principality, leaving Monaco’s existing protections for unborn children in place.
In an interview with Monaco-Matin, the Prince confirmed that the reform would not proceed. He argued that Monaco’s current approach reflects the country’s identity, shaped by its Catholic heritage, while still offering humane support to women facing crisis pregnancies. “I believe the current system expresses who we are,” he said, noting the recognised role of the Catholic religion in public life.
Abortion in Monaco remains formally illegal, though it has been decriminalised since 2019. Termination is permitted only in three circumstances: rape, a serious risk to the mother’s life, or significant foetal anomaly. The 2019 change removed criminal penalties for women who obtain abortions abroad, often in nearby France, but it did not create a right to destroy a pregnancy in Monaco.
The blocked bill, introduced in March 2025 and approved in May by nineteen votes to two, would have allowed elective abortion up to 12 weeks, or 16 weeks for rape cases. It also proposed lowering the age of consent without parental involvement from 18 to 15. Earlier this month, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand told Council President Thomas Brezzo that the government would not pursue the measure, and the Prince asked that the Council be formally notified.
Prince Albert acknowledged the sensitivity of the debate, but said previous reforms in 2009 and 2019 had already produced a balanced framework, consistent with Monaco’s constitution and cultural character. That constitution recognises Catholicism as the state religion, a point he believes matters when legislation touches on life itself.
This echoes stories of other monarchs who chose principle over pressure. In 1990 Belgium’s King Baudouin refused to sign an abortion law, and ministers temporarily assumed his powers to enact it. In 2008 Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri withheld assent from euthanasia legislation, prompting a constitutional change that reduced the monarch’s role. Liechtenstein’s Prince Hans-Adam II has likewise said he would veto any referendum that sought to legalise abortion.
Michael Robinson, SPUC’s General Secretary, welcomes the intervention, saying “The conviction of His Serene Highness is a refreshing reminder that leaders in Europe are willing to cause controversy in defence of the unborn. SPUC is determined to create a culture of life in the UK that will allow the leaders of tomorrow to take an equally bold stand to stop abortion. This story in Monaco is one to remember: the culture of death has met its end and it will not win over Europe.”
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