On November 18, Prince Albert II of Monaco vetoed a bill passed by his government that would have legalized abortion on demand.
In March, the National Council of Monaco—a small city-state with a semi-constitutional monarchy on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea—introduced legislation that would have legalized abortion on demand up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, extended the cutoff in cases of sexual assault to 16 weeks, and lowered the age of parental consent from age 18 to 15. It passed by a margin of 19 to 2 in May.
The law would have transformed Monaco from a largely pro-life regime with limited exceptions (introduced in 2009) for cases of serious danger to the mother’s life, rape, and “severe fetal malformations” to an abortion regime in which unborn children could be aborted for any reason throughout the first three months of pregnancy. Doctors who perpetrate abortions can lose their medical licenses for up to five years and even face jail terms (although no doctors have been imprisoned).
Prince Albert instructed the government not to implement the law, stating that he “understands the sensitivity of this issue” but emphasizing that “the current framework respects who we are, in light of the role that the Catholic religion occupies in our country, while still ensuring safe and more human support.” In the Principality of Monaco, the monarch can veto any bill from the National Council. The veto can only be overridden if the government passes the identical law with a two-thirds majority, something that is very difficult to do because of Monaco’s conservatism.
Even then, as one media outlet noted, the prince can “dissolve the National Council and force a new election before an override vote could take place.”
Prince Albert’s veto puts him in the company of a very small handful of royals who have similarly spoken up on behalf of the voiceless. As I noted in The European Conservative last year, King Baudouin I of Belgium resigned for a day in 1990 rather than granting Royal Assent to the legalization of abortion; Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein stopped the legalization of abortion in his country in 2012 when he stated that he would veto any attempt to do so. In 2008, Luxembourg had to amend its constitution so that the monarch no longer formally “sanctions” laws when Grand Duke Henri refused to sign a bill that would have legalized euthanasia.
Prince Albert is the son of Prince Ranier III and Princess Grace, also known as the American actress Grace Kelly. He was throned in November 2005 at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral after the death of his father; his mother died of injuries after a car accident in 1982. Princess Grace was also staunchly pro-life, noting in 1971 that she was opposed to abortion “of any kind, legal or illegal.” She would, no doubt, be very proud of him.
