Andorra's Concòrdia Files 20 Amendments to Penal Code, Proposes Blank Abortion Clause Amid Vatican Talks

**Concòrdia registers 20 amendments to penal code reform, proposing blank abortion clause amid Vatican talks**

Andorra's opposition party Concòrdia has filed around 20 amendments to the government's penal code reform, including a blank provision for abortion decriminalisation while awaiting the executive's negotiations with the Vatican.

At a Wednesday press conference, parliamentary group president Cerni Escalé and councillor Núria Segués outlined the proposals, which build on work started in October 2025. They aim to modernise a code unchanged in depth for over 20 years, addressing outdated responses to sexual violence. The changes divide into four main areas: redefining consent, bolstering minor protections, tackling child prostitution and pornography, and curbing digital sexual offences.

Concòrdia seeks to set the sexual consent age at 18 across all cases, dropping the government's automatic crime threshold for five-year age gaps. It favours scaled penalties based on age differences—leniency for gaps up to two years, harsher measures as gaps widen. Any sexual contact with children under 10 would qualify as rape, with penalties starting at age 12. Consent must be free, informed, and explicit, revocable at any time and never assumed from silence. Rape minimum sentences would increase, with added aggravating factors for harassment in unequal power dynamics, such as workplaces or schools.

A dedicated chapter would shield minors under 16 from sexual assaults, with penalties varying by victim age—stricter for the youngest. The party wants to criminalise all phases of child pornography, including consumption for the first time, alongside grooming, production, distribution, online luring, and organised trafficking. Aggravating factors would apply to human trafficking with criminal networks.

Digital rules would penalise non-consensual image sharing, unsolicited content, AI-generated fakes, and online minor solicitation, stressing consent even without physical contact. Segués noted the government's text overlooks consent in these scenarios, especially for underage victims.

On abortion, Escalé urged faster action, citing urgent helicopter transfers abroad, including for a 14-year-old rape victim lacking funds. "Do we have to wait for a woman to die during a helicopter transfer?" he asked, calling for solutions in health or economic hardship cases. The blank clause allows committee discussion without details, as Concòrdia lacks a majority and prefers seeing the government's June proposal first. No plan by then would mark "a major disappointment," Escalé said. He criticised the executive's slow response, which missed an early legislative window when parties agreed on decriminalising women and doctors while upholding institutions. The Vatican's position has since toughened, complicating matters.

Concòrdia backs CASS coverage for the procedure and expects additional laws. It views the PS initiative as symbolic, unlikely to pass the majority filter, and insists the government lead to preserve co-principality ties. Escalé dismissed republican talk as "nonsense," stressing no parliamentary group seeks institutional change. The party will assess the executive's outcome before proceeding.