France has officially become the first country in the world to guarantee the right to abortion in its constitution, and President Emmanuel Macron has promised he “will not rest” until women across Europe have the same protection.
The constitutional amendment, passed by the French Parliament earlier in the week, was sealed with hot wax in Paris on Friday.
Attending the ceremony, timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, Macron said he would push for the right to terminate a pregnancy to be included in the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.
“Today is not the end of the story but the start of a fight,” he said, standing in front of the Ministry of Justice.
“We’re going to lead this fight in our continent, in our Europe, where reactionary forces are attacking women’s rights.”
Ce 8 mars 2024, c’est dans les pas de ces combattantes que nous nous inscrivons avec humilité. Pour les droits des femmes. pic.twitter.com/7HbORTODKk
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 8, 2024
Abortion has been legal in France since 1975, but Macron last year pledged to better protect it after the United States Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the half-century-old right to the procedure, leaving it up to individual states to decide.
In a historic vote, both houses of France’s Parliament on Monday gave a green light to making terminating a pregnancy a “guaranteed freedom” in Article 34 of the constitution, sparking celebration among feminists.
Differing views
Neil Datta of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights said France could serve as an example for progressives across Europe.
🇫🇷🎉This #InternationalWomensDay marks history: Macron seals #abortion as a constitutional right. #France "could serve as an example for progressives in all countries of Europe", said our ED Neil Datta at the ceremony in Paris to @FRANCE24
👉https://t.co/pL6cCLeCVq pic.twitter.com/BMoBMDnuv1— EPF (@EPF_SRR) March 8, 2024
But changing the EU charter, which would require unanimity, may prove difficult. While most of Europe has legalised abortion, some countries impose restrictions on women seeking to terminate a pregnancy, and deep divisions over abortion rights remain.
Last year, EU member Malta backed down on a bill that would have allowed the termination of pregnancies when the mother’s health was at serious risk, saying instead that abortions would be allowed only when the mother’s life is in danger.
Like Malta’s, Poland’s anti-abortion laws are among the most restrictive in Europe. Pregnancies may be terminated there only in cases of a threat to the mother’s life or health or in cases of rape. The number of abortions in the country dropped from more than 1,000 in 2020 to 161 in 2022.
Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the US and many other countries with polls showing about 80 percent of French people back the fact that abortion is legal.
