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Statement from Georges Buscemi, President of Quebec Life Coalition – Photo: video screenshot/LCN

On October 9, 2025, the Legault government tabled a bill aiming to provide Quebec with its own constitution. Among the so-called “foundational principles” of this constitution is the “freedom of women to obtain an abortion.” Campagne Québec-Vie strongly denounces the inclusion of such a principle, which consecrates the deliberate elimination of an unborn human being as part of Quebec’s foundational identity.

We are outraged — but not surprised. For far too long, Quebec has been institutionalizing the erasure of its spiritual roots, its long tradition of defending life, and even its very sense of human solidarity.

It is worth noting that the proposed constitution carefully refers to a “freedom” to abort, and not a “right” to abortion. This semantic nuance betrays a certain discomfort. For to proclaim a right to abortion would be to affirm that abortion is, in itself, a morally good act — a claim that even pro-choice advocates are often reluctant to defend publicly.

A freedom, in the classical sense, means the absence of obstacles. It does not necessarily confer moral legitimacy. One may be “free” to do wrong — but that does not mean one has the right to do so, in the stronger sense of a right being the recognition of a good that must be protected, or justice that must be rendered. Killing an unborn child can never be a just act — much less a good to be enshrined in the founding document of a people.

The draft constitution explicitly incorporates Articles 1 through 38 of Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. And yet Article 1 of that same Charter states that “Every human being has a right to life.” The unborn child, an undeniably human being from a scientific point of view, would therefore be excluded from this fundamental protection. What a tragic inconsistency!

Another striking element is the declaration that “The State is secular.” Far from affirming mere administrative neutrality, this statement — in the spirit of the bill — appears to be a rejection of Quebec’s Christian heritage. The draft speaks frequently of Quebec’s culture, but never once acknowledges its Christian roots. This omission, in a document meant to define a people’s identity, amounts to a kind of deliberate amnesia — or worse, an outright repudiation.

Here, Quebec is shooting itself in the foot: by rejecting the vital force that gave it birth — its faith, its moral code, its Christian culture — it denies the very sources of its continuity. It renounces the transcendent horizon that alone gives meaning and coherence to freedom, to solidarity, and to justice.

Far from strengthening national unity, this proposed constitution divides. It elevates abortion — a destructive act — to the level of a founding principle, and turns its back on Quebec’s Christian heritage, a heritage that once gave life, beauty, and justice to its institutions.

We call on all people of goodwill in Quebec to reject this proposed constitution and demand a true foundation for the future: one that protects all human beings, including the most vulnerable, and that humbly acknowledges the spiritual inheritance upon which Quebec was built.

“Je me souviens” — but of what, exactly?