As France made the decision to include abortion as a right in its constitution, the Vatican reacted immediately. The Pontifical Academy for Life issued a statement of solidarity with the French Bishops.  

Earlier, the French Bishops’ Conference had stressed that “abortion remains an attack on life.” It should not only be regarded from the perspective of women’s rights. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia is the president of the Academy. In his statement, he reminded the French legislators of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects life at all stages.  

France is a signatory to the Declaration.  

Citing Pope Francis’s words from March 2020, the Academy statement explains that the defense of life is not an ideological question for the Church but a “human reality to which all faithful are called.”  

In an interview, Archbishop Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, called for more collaboration to protect life at all stages.   

The Archbishop said, “We have to work together in order to preserve, defend, and promote life. I hope we can find a consensus to protect the most vulnerable lives.”  

In their statement, Archbishop Paglia and the Academy cite Pope Francis when they remind us that defending life is connected to an “attitude of solidarity, care, and acceptance,” which we all are responsible for handing down to the next generation. 

Adapted by Jacob Stein