France Becomes First Country to Constitutionalize Abortion Rights
On Monday, at a historic joint session of parliament held at the Palace of Versailles, France became the first country in the world to formally recognize the right to abortion in its constitution.
France began to push for the change in 2022, under President Emmanuel Macron's administration, as the nation watched in horror as the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and states began to restrict abortion rights.
"I made a commitment to make women's freedom to have an abortion irreversible by inscribing it in the constitution," Macron said on X (formerly Twitter) after lawmakers' approved it Wednesday.
To make the amendment to the constitution official, it must be approved by a three-fifths majority in both chambers and passed during the extraordinary session of the parliament at Versailles. It is anticipated that Monday's joint session at Versailles would pass the proposal, given it has already been approved by both houses.
Last Monday, the French Senate cleared the way with the approval of almost 80% of the typically male-dominated and socially conservative chamber's lawmakers.
At the tail end of January, the bill had been approved by the lower house, the National Assembly, with an overwhelming majority.
Although some conservative MPs claimed there was no necessity to change the constitution, none of the main political parties represented in parliament questioned the morality of abortion.
“It serves no purpose, because no political movement is questioning abortion,” said Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party and legislative representative. Finally, Le Pen voted to pass the bill.
Ninety percent of French people agree that abortion should be legal, and 86 percent would like to see the right to choose included into the country's constitution.
Simone Veil, France's health minister and a symbol for women's rights, pushed for a law legalising abortion in 1974.
In a France that was still predominantly Catholic and conservative at the time, Veil was personally assaulted during the massive demonstrations against the measure.
The most recent French constitution was ratified in 1958, during Charles De Gaulle's president of the Fifth Republic.
In contrast to the planned 15-week nationwide ban that has sparked outrage in the US, France has imposed a 14-week time limit on elective abortions.
In France, the taxpayer-funded health care system covers the cost of abortion.