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.
