diff --git a/Lib/test/test_embed.py b/Lib/test/test_embed.py
index ab112d6be85b46..916a9a79887dfc 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_embed.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_embed.py
@@ -465,8 +465,12 @@ def test_getargs_reset_static_parser(self):
         # Test _PyArg_Parser initializations via _PyArg_UnpackKeywords()
         # https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/122334
         code = textwrap.dedent("""
-            import _ssl
-            _ssl.txt2obj(txt='1.3')
+            try:
+                import _ssl
+            except ModuleNotFoundError:
+                _ssl = None
+            if _ssl is not None:
+                _ssl.txt2obj(txt='1.3')
             print('1')
 
             import _queue