In a historic move, France has become the first nation to embed the right to abortion within its constitution, a decision that has drawn significant criticism from anti-abortion organizations. The measure was overwhelmingly supported by both senators and members of parliament, with 780 votes in favor and 72 against, in a special joint vote of the two legislative houses.
Monday's vote enshrined in Article 34 of the French constitution that "the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion. Abortion rights activists gathered in central Paris cheered and applauded as the Eiffel Tower scintillated in the background and displayed the message "MyBodyMyChoice" as the result of the vote was announced on a giant screen.
In France, abortion rights enjoy broader acceptance compared to the United States and numerous other nations. Polls indicate that approximately 80% of French citizens support the legality of abortion.
We're sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers ahead of the vote. Since the enactment of a 1974 law, women in France have possessed a legal entitlement to abortion, a provision that faced substantial criticism upon its introduction.
According to a report of Reuters, But the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to reverse the Roe v. Wade ruling that recognised women's constitutional right to abortion prompted activists to push France to become the first country to explicitly protect the right in its basic law. This right (to abortion) has retreated in the United States. And so nothing authorised us to think that France was exempt from this risk,said Laura Slimani, from the Fondation des Femmes rights group