On Monday, French lawmakers are set to make history by incorporating the right to have an abortion into the country’s constitution. This move, which is supported by a large majority of the public, would make France the first country in the world to explicitly safeguard abortion rights in its foundational legal document.
A special meeting of both the lower and upper houses of parliament in Versailles, starting at 3:30 pm, is expected to secure the necessary three-fifths majority needed for this change. This comes after the proposal faced some initial hurdles in the Senate, which tends to lean more conservative. If approved, this would fulfill a promise made by President Emmanuel Macron to protect abortion rights in the constitution, especially after the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn the right to abortion, allowing states to impose bans or restrictions.
The National Assembly in France already passed the proposal to declare abortion a “guaranteed freedom” within the constitution in January, followed by the Senate’s approval. The bill is now poised to pass in a combined vote of both chambers during a rare joint session at the Palace of Versailles. Given the strong support seen in earlier votes, the passage of the bill is highly anticipated.
The push to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution comes decades after abortion was legalized in France in 1975, largely thanks to efforts by Simone Veil, a prominent figure in women’s rights, who was later honored with a burial at the Pantheon after her death in 2018. The move reflects a longstanding struggle for reproductive rights, dating back to when 343 women publicly admitted to having illegal abortions in a 1971 petition, signaling a significant societal shift.
This constitutional amendment is seen as a critical step in protecting women’s rights against potential political, economic, or religious crises that could threaten these freedoms in the future. The initiative has drawn praise from reproductive rights organizations, noting that France could set a global precedent with such a broad and explicit constitutional provision for abortion rights.
While some countries have constitutions that hint at reproductive rights or allow abortion under specific conditions, France’s proposal stands out for its explicit protection of the right to choose. Public support in France for this constitutional protection is high, with a survey showing that 86 percent of French people are in favor. The proposal has seen wide support across political lines, although some conservative senators have reportedly felt pressured to approve it.
President Macron has heralded the Senate’s approval as a “decisive step” and promptly called for the parliamentary congress to finalize the change. The last significant constitutional amendment in France was in 2008 under former president Nicolas Sarkozy, which included several reforms such as limiting presidential terms and enhancing press freedoms.