Federal popular initiative «Right to Life»
The federal popular initiative “Right to Life” demanded that the right to life be included in the Swiss Federal Constitution . The popular initiative emerged as part of the discussions on the impunity of abortion that took place in Switzerland in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The initiative committee Right to Life , a body of people and organizations close to the church, was behind the popular initiative . The anti-abortion initiative wanted to ensure that the sentence “A person's life begins with their conception and ends with their natural death” would be anchored in the constitution, which in future should prevent any discussion about possible impunity for the termination of pregnancy.
The initiative was tabled on July 30, 1980 and voted on June 9, 1985. The Federal Council and Parliament recommended that the voters reject the initiative.
Initiative text
The initiative required a new article in the federal constitution:
Art. 54bis (new)
- 1 Everyone has the right to life and to physical and mental integrity.
- 2 Man's life begins with his conception and ends with his natural death.
- 3 The protection of life and physical and mental integrity must not be impaired with regard to less high legal interests. Interventions are only possible through the rule of law.
poll
On June 9, 1985, the Swiss rejected the right to life initiative at the ballot box.
1,480,472 people entitled to vote took part in the vote, which corresponds to a participation of 35.72%. The bill was rejected by both the people and the estates.
| Yes votes | 448,016 | 31.0% |
| Vote no | 999,077 | 69.0% |
| Accepting stands | 4 3/2 | |
| Discarding stands | 16 3/2 |