France becomes the first country in the world to enshrine a woman’s right to abortion in the constitution. French lawmakers endorsed the Bill to hook women’s right to abortion in the French Constitution when the joint session at Versailles ended on Monday.
A very historic decision by France shook the world with this bill which was heavily criticized by anti-abortion groups. 780 votes against 72 supported by Senators and MPs in a special joint vote of the two houses of the parliament. This gives France the very first country to completely protect the right to abort or protect the pregnancy in its basic legal articles.
On Monday votes enshrined in Article 34 of the French Constitution that “the law determines the conditions in which a women has guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion”.
“We’re sending a message to all women out there: Your Body belongs to you and no one can decide it for you.” Gabriel Attal, French Prime Minister said to media ahead of votes.
What changes did France introduced?
In the beginning of 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to roll back the abortion rights by Supreme Court of the United States. ” The law determines the conditions by which is exercised the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed.” proposed by Elysee Palace in Article 34 of the French Constitution to specify.
“Our freedoms are inherently threatened. Inherently fragile, in essence at the mercy of those who decide.” said the French PM. Initial resistance in the right-leaning Senate was faced by the bill. However, major political parties represented in the parliament didn’t questioned the right to abortion, which France decriminalized in 1975.
The US Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized the constitutional right to abortion, prompted activists to press for France to make the constitutional change.
Introduction of the bill prompts,” Unfortunately, this event is not isolated: in many countries, even in Europe, there are currents of opinion that seek to hinder at any cost the freedom of the women to terminate their pregnancy if they wish”.
On Monday, Vatican opposed to the change, supporting the already concerns raised by French Catholic Bishops. The Vatican institution said in a statement,” The Political for life recalls that in the era of universal human rights, there can be no ” rights” to take a human life”.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Macron was using this to score political points, because the huge amount of support that the right to abortion in the country is receiving. Pascale Moriniere, the president of the Association of Catholic Families, claimed this move as a defeat for the anti-abortion campaigners. “It’s (also) a defeat for women,” she said,” and, of course, for all the children who cannot see the day.”
Happy crowd of Abortion rights activists gathered in central Paris as cheered and applauded as the Eiffel Tower scintillated in the background as they showcase the message “My Body My Choice” as on the giant screen the results of the vote was announced.
“This right(to abortion) has retreated in the United States and so nothing authorized us to think that France was exempt from this risk. There’s a lot of emotion, as a feminist activist, also as a women. ” says an emotional Laura Slimani, from the Fondation des Femmes rights group.
Pascale Moriniere, president of the Association of Catholic Families, said the vote was a result of “panic”.” We imported a debate that is not French , since the United States was first to removed that from law with the repeal of Roe v Wade,” she said. “There was an effect of panic from Feminist movement, which wished to engrave this on the marble of the constitution”.
