New Delhi: France has become the first country in the world to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution after parliamentarians voted to amend the document enacted in 1958.
The “guaranteed freedom” to abort was favourably voted in on 4 March by lawmakers of both houses of parliament — the National Assembly and the Senate — in an overwhelming majority of 780 votes against 72.
The right has been guaranteed to French women through Article 34 of the French constitution, which says, “the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion”.
This came after the Assembly approved the proposal in January, followed by the Senate adopting the same on 28 February.
Women in France have enjoyed a legal right to abortion since 1974, but polls showed around 85 percent of the public supported amending the constitution to protect the right to end a pregnancy, according to the BBC.
According to an AP report, in the lead-up to the historic vote, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed the 925 lawmakers gathered in the Palace of Versailles, calling on them to make “France a leader in women’s rights” and “to set an example for countries around the world”. “We have a moral debt to women,” he is quoted as saying.
He added that France had a chance to change history. He called on the parliamentarians to “make Simone Veil proud”. Veil was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor and politician. She joined the government as health minister in 1974 and one of the first things she did after her appointment was to legalise abortion in France.
Attal was quoted by BBC as saying that the right to abortion remained “in danger” and “at the mercy of decision makers”. “We’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you,” he said.
After the vote, France saw all-round celebrations by women’s rights activists. The Eiffel Tower, too, was lit up with the message: “My Body, My Choice”.
President Emmanuel Macron called the move “French pride” that had sent a “universal message”.
Anti-abortion groups, however, have strongly criticised the change, as has the Vatican, the BBC reported.
As reported by AP, none of France’s major political parties questioned the right to abortion, including Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party and the conservative Republicans. However, Le Pen was quoted as saying that her party planned to vote in favour of the bill but there was no need to make it a historic day.
France’s move to make the right to abortion a constitutional right is in contrast with what happened in the US in June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs. Wade ruling of 1973, facilitating states to ban the right to abortion.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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