“A message to all women”
France enshrines the right to abortion in the constitution
© xVincentxIsorex / imago images
France was the first country in the world to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution, thereby granting complete impunity for abortion.
It is primarily a symbolic act, one with a great signal effect: France is the first country in the world to enshrine the right to Abortion in the Basic Law. At a parliamentary session on Monday (March 4, 2024), 780 MPs voted in favor and only 72 against. This means that a three-fifths majority in both chambers of parliament was achieved.
In France, abortions can currently be carried out without penalty up to the 14th week. An average of 230,000 abortions are carried out per year, which corresponds to around one in four pregnancies. The health insurance company covers the costs.
The current definition of “the guaranteed freedom of women to have an abortion” in Article 34 of the Constitution primarily protects against future restrictions on abortion rights, as was made in the USA in 2022.
“We send a message to all women…”
“…Your body belongs to you and no one can make decisions for you.” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal explained this and spoke of the “moral duty” towards the women who had secret abortions or died during the attempt: “We are not freely haunted by the suffering and the memory of so many women who have suffered for decades to be able to be,” he said.
President Emmanuel Macron also commented on this in the online service X: “France’s pride. Universal message.” At the end of October, he promised to enshrine a “right to abortion” in the constitution and was thus reacting to cuts in abortion rights in the USA in 2022, which had led to heated debates not only there but also in France. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court decided to overturn the 1973 “Roe v. Wade” ruling and, with it, the nationwide right to abortion.
Consent and protests
According to polls, 86 percent of French people support the complete liberalization of abortion. But alongside all the positive reactions, there is also criticism. During the vote, several hundred abortion opponents protested near the Congress in Versailles. In addition, the Catholic Church continued to speak out against abortion. According to the broadcaster BFMTV, the Pontifical Academy for Life said: “In the age of universal human rights, there can be no ‘right’ to destroy a human life.”
Germany is discussing new regulations
In Germany, since 1995, women have been allowed to have abortions without penalty up to the twelfth week if they have sought advice beforehand. A commission is currently debating whether abortion should be regulated outside the criminal code.
The constitutional amendment document was stamped with a state seal in Versailles using a historic sealing press. It is to be ceremoniously sealed again on International Women’s Day on March 8th.
Sources: Tagesschau.de, sz.de, Spiegel.de