Fifty years ago the French parliament passed a groundbreaking bill that would eventually decriminalise abortion, championed by health minister Simone Veil, amidst intense opposition.
After three days of fierce debate, the first draft of the bill was passed on 29 November, 1974. And while the right to abortion has since been enshrined in the French constitution, a world first, the bill’s adoption by the National Assembly half a century ago was far from a given.
