By 
07-03-2024
Innocenti Chiara
Human Rights and Europe Team,
Global Human Rights Defence.
Paris (France) – On March 4th, the French Senate and the National Assembly, convened in Congress at the Palace of Versailles, voted 780 to 72 in favour of a constitutional amendment on Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (VTP).
This long-awaited event, following years of social and political turmoil, guarantees every woman the right to abortion, making national feminist movements applaud, and France become the first country in the world to enshrine this right in its Constitution. For many, this verdict represents a clear stance by French lawmakers against the regression of abortion rights, particularly in response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had long served as a global emblem of the fight for women’s rights.
While abortion remains a contentious political issue in many countries, it enjoys widespread acceptance in France, culminating in Monday’s joint decision by both chambers. The right to abortion has been a crucial cause for French progressives. In the 1970s, Holocaust survivor and Health Minister Simone Veil first addressed the issue by legalising the practice. However, many French citizens feared that a law alone would not be enough to prevent future parliamentary majorities from reversing it, especially given the strong opposition from the Catholic Church.
From now on, Article 34 of the 1958 French Constitution will be enriched by two additional lines crystallising the right to abortion. “French pride, universal message,” commented President Emmanuel Macron on the history-making attainment shortly after the vote. All citizens and the whole of civil society are invited to attend the official ceremony, set to take place on International Women’s Day in Vendôme Square.
Sources and further reading:
(March 4, 2024). IVG:Que va changer son inscription dans la Constitution. BFMTV. Retrieved on March 3, 2024, from
https://www.bfmtv.com/societe/ivg-que-va-changer-son-inscription-dans-la-constitution_AD-202403040032.html.
(March 5, 2024). Le droit à l’avortement. Gouvernement: liberté, égalité, fraternité. Retrieved on March 5, 2024, from
https://ivg.gouv.fr/le-droit-lavortement.
(March 5, 2024). L’inscription de l’IVG dans la Constitution, un message envoyé à toutes les femmes du monde. Le Monde. Retrieved on March 5, 2024, from
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2024/03/05/l-inscription-de-l-ivg-dans-la-constitution-un-message-envoye-a-toutes-les-femmes-du-monde_6220162_823448.html.
(March 4, 2024). French bishops reiterate opposition to enshrining abortion in constitution. Vatican News. Retrieved on March 5, 2024, from
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-03/french-bishops-oppose-constitutionalizingabortion.html#:~:text=“As%20Catholics%2C%20we%20must%20continue,circumstances%2C%22%20the%20bishops%20said.
(March 6, 2024). Roe v. Wade. Britannica. Retrieved on March 5, 2024, from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Roe-v-Wade.
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