Given the recent uproar over the legalization (with restrictions) of abortion in Spain I thought it might be revealing to list the status of abortion in the modern monarchies of what was once Christian Europe. To be clear, The Mad Monarchist is staunchly pro-life and pro-monarchy but has been puzzled by the way it seemed Spain was singled out for not ‘going down with the ship’ on the subject of abortion. For those who will support no monarchy wherein abortion is in any way legal you may find yourself being a theoretical monarchist and a political nonentity as you will see:
Andorra: Recognizes a special relationship with the Roman Catholic Church but has no official state religion. Abortion is allowed only to save the life of the mother.
Belgium: The Royal Family is Catholic but there is no state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Denmark: The Church of Denmark (Lutheran) is the state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Liechtenstein: The Roman Catholic Church is the state religion. Abortion is allowed in cases concerning the life, health or mental wellbeing of the mother.
Luxembourg: The Grand Ducal Family is Catholic but there is no state religion. Abortion is legal to save the life of the mother and in exceptional related cases.
Monaco: The Roman Catholic Church is the state religion. Abortion is allowed only to save the life of the mother.
The Netherlands: The Royal Family is Dutch Reformed but there is no state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Norway: The Church of Norway (Lutheran) is the state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Spain: The Royal Family is Roman Catholic but there is no official state religion. Abortion is legal is cases of rape, fetal defects or in cases concerning the life, health or mental wellbeing of the mother.
Sweden: The Royal Family is Church of Sweden (Lutheran) but there is no state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
United Kingdom: The Church of England is the state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Vatican City: The Roman Catholic Church is the state religion (obviously!) and abortion is illegal in any and all cases (there is also no hospital in the Vatican).
As you can see, the current state of affairs is not a pretty picture and those whose support for monarchy hinges on absolute opposition to all abortions, the only state to fit the bill is the Vatican (sorry Protestants). Obviously, the Vatican is a unique case in that the local monarch is the Pope, on the basis of religion it could never allow abortion by the very nature of the state itself and there is no hospital in the Vatican where an abortion or any other major medical procedure could be performed. It is also not exactly the sort of country one could move to and obtain citizenship. All of the monarchies in Europe other than the Vatican allow abortion in at least some cases even those which have official established state religions. Incidentally, the only sovereign, native monarchies outside of Europe with a predominately Christian population and Christian Royal Families (Catholic) Lesotho and (Protestant) Tonga both allow abortion if the life of the mother is threatened. I state these brutal facts not to discourage monarchism on the part of the pro-life, nor certainly to paint the pro-life movement as a lost cause to the monarchists reading but merely to point out that this is a problem far bigger than Spain and will require more than monarchs refusing royal assent to be corrected. Societies must be changed, governments must be changed but scrapping every monarchy but the Vatican (which would not overturn abortion laws anyway) is certainly not the answer.
Andorra: Recognizes a special relationship with the Roman Catholic Church but has no official state religion. Abortion is allowed only to save the life of the mother.
Belgium: The Royal Family is Catholic but there is no state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Denmark: The Church of Denmark (Lutheran) is the state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Liechtenstein: The Roman Catholic Church is the state religion. Abortion is allowed in cases concerning the life, health or mental wellbeing of the mother.
Luxembourg: The Grand Ducal Family is Catholic but there is no state religion. Abortion is legal to save the life of the mother and in exceptional related cases.
Monaco: The Roman Catholic Church is the state religion. Abortion is allowed only to save the life of the mother.
The Netherlands: The Royal Family is Dutch Reformed but there is no state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Norway: The Church of Norway (Lutheran) is the state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Spain: The Royal Family is Roman Catholic but there is no official state religion. Abortion is legal is cases of rape, fetal defects or in cases concerning the life, health or mental wellbeing of the mother.
Sweden: The Royal Family is Church of Sweden (Lutheran) but there is no state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
United Kingdom: The Church of England is the state religion. Abortion is available on demand.
Vatican City: The Roman Catholic Church is the state religion (obviously!) and abortion is illegal in any and all cases (there is also no hospital in the Vatican).
As you can see, the current state of affairs is not a pretty picture and those whose support for monarchy hinges on absolute opposition to all abortions, the only state to fit the bill is the Vatican (sorry Protestants). Obviously, the Vatican is a unique case in that the local monarch is the Pope, on the basis of religion it could never allow abortion by the very nature of the state itself and there is no hospital in the Vatican where an abortion or any other major medical procedure could be performed. It is also not exactly the sort of country one could move to and obtain citizenship. All of the monarchies in Europe other than the Vatican allow abortion in at least some cases even those which have official established state religions. Incidentally, the only sovereign, native monarchies outside of Europe with a predominately Christian population and Christian Royal Families (Catholic) Lesotho and (Protestant) Tonga both allow abortion if the life of the mother is threatened. I state these brutal facts not to discourage monarchism on the part of the pro-life, nor certainly to paint the pro-life movement as a lost cause to the monarchists reading but merely to point out that this is a problem far bigger than Spain and will require more than monarchs refusing royal assent to be corrected. Societies must be changed, governments must be changed but scrapping every monarchy but the Vatican (which would not overturn abortion laws anyway) is certainly not the answer.
Absolutely right. We can't win this battle - we'd lose the war. Without the monarchies of these countries, it would be even more dubious that abortion could be turned back.
ReplyDeleteThus, by conceding this round, we leave ourselves with a chance later. This is an old war, over two hundred years on. We are no longer in the ascendancy, and as our foes had chipped away at our institutions, so we must patiently chip away at theirs.
Immediacy is simply impossible in this case, and so you've got to be patient. Yes, it's horrible, and one doesn't have to like the current position. But a patient, more long-term strategy would yield far greater results.
Let them take that ground. Let them overreach. We have time, and as they try their "experiments", and those experiments fail, then so our position becomes stronger, and the counter-attack more devastating.
Very martial analogies, I know, but such is the way with strategising.
That is correct. You cannot win a 'culture war' with one battle or one individual be it an MP, PM or monarch. As an example, the only European country other than the Vatican where is abortion is illegal in any and all cases is the island nation of Malta, which has been a republic since breaking from the British monarchy in 1974. However, the Maltese are a very conservative, Catholic people, especially by modern standards. If they still had Elizabeth II as their Queen it would not be to her credit that abortion is illegal just as it is not her fault that abortion is available on demand in the UK -it is a difference of culture and a population with different values. That is what has to change for this war to be won not changing the forms of government. Abortion is available on demand in France (a republic) but illegal in almost all cases in Ireland (a republic also) because the cultures of those countries are different. It is also worth pointing out that while abortion is legal in every monarchy (other than the Holy See) those where abortion is the most restricted are those where the monarchs retain the most power -Liechtenstein and Monaco.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The main problem is that the Cultural Religion of today is the Relgiion of Humanism. (THough Humanists deny that they are a Religion.) The assumption of placing Human Rights above all other considerations and basing those rights on the idea of personal dsires being in and of thmselves inaleinable rights certainly is the basis of Abortion beign Legal. The Asusmption that a Growing etus is not a Baby and that a woman must be given rights over her own Body is only feasable if you accept that it is a owmans body and the Fetus isnt Human, and the whole 'Right" issue comes into play if we assume a woman has endless rights to do as she leases.
ReplyDeleteIf ou assume the Baby is a person, and then grant the CHidl Rights, the issue becomes totally different but the Focus is no longer on the wo,man and her choices, but the Responcibiity the owman has toward her CHild.
Really at base the whole Ws agaisnt radition, including Monarhcy and Traditional Authority, rests uon a Philosophy of selfish indulgence and hedonism beign Valued aboe all else, and simply installign a Monarhc, evn one wiht vast powers, won't negate this. Indeed, many Empires in the cient world had Kings, and yet Sacrificed thir CHildren to vsrious gods, such as Molech.
While Tradition, Honour, and respect lead to Monarhy, Monarhcy in and of itself doesn't lead to those things.