Historic: France Becomes World's First Nation to Enshrine Abortion Right in Constitution

Paris – After months of deliberation, France became the first country in the world to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Monday. According to CNN, the effort in the European nation began in direct response to the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade. In the Monday session, lawmakers from both houses of the French parliament voted  780 to 72 in favour of the historic piece of legislation. Hence, abortion rights became a constitutional right in the country after easily clearing the three-fifths majority needed to make such amendments. 

According to CNN, the Monday voting was held during a special gathering of lawmakers at the Palace of Versailles, located in the southwest of Paris. The special session was touted as the final step in the legislative process. The amendment was overwhelmingly approved by both the country's Senate and National Assembly, earlier this year. It is important to note that the legislation states that there is a “guaranteed freedom” to abortion in France. However, some lawmakers have urged the Macron administration to explicitly call abortion a “right”. Shortly after the amendment to the constitution was approved, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with the words “My body my choice.”

Before the voting commenced, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal insisted that the lawmakers of the European nation had a “moral debt” to women who had to endure illegal abortions in the past. “Above all, we’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you,” the French premier averred. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the government is also planning to hold a formal ceremony celebrating the amendment's passage. The ceremony is scheduled to be held on Friday when the world will be celebrating International Women’s Rights Day.

The journey

It is pertinent to note that France was the first nation to legalize abortion in 1975 after an extensive campaign which was led by the country's then-Health Minister Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became one of the country’s most famous feminist icons. While the concept of abortion is usually a decisive matter all around the world, it is widely accepted and supported in France. Some of the lawmakers who voted against the amendment in the Monday session did not do so because they didn't support abortion. They voted against the amendment because they found it unnecessary since abortion rights are widely accepted around the world. Similar sentiments were also expressed by the Macron administration before 2022. However, the main catalyst for the initiative was the controversial judgement given out by the Supreme Court of the United States of America. 

“We now have irrefutable proof that no democracy, not even the largest of them all, is immune,” French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said before the debate on the matter was held in the National Assembly in January. Moretti was alluring to the US Supreme Court's decision that ruled against Roe v. Wade and let states individually decide on the issue. The vote also marked the 325th time the French Republic has amended its constitution since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958.