France’s Senate has given its approval to a governmental initiative on Wednesday, further advancing a proposal aimed at solidifying women’s freedom to undergo abortion within the law. Prior to this, the proposal had received endorsement from the lower house, the National Assembly.
The measure garnered 267 votes in favor against 50 in the upper house of parliament, setting the stage for a special congress where it will be subjected to another vote. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for this extraordinary joint session, which will convene both the lower and upper houses of parliament.
Abortion was legalized in France back in 1974, and the current proposal, known as France’s Abortion Amendment, seeks to introduce modifications to the constitution.
If the amendment secures approval from at least three-fifths of the members in the special joint session, there will be no necessity for a public referendum. Notably, a poll conducted in November 2022 indicated that a significant majority, 86% of the French populace, supported this initiative. Political parties across the spectrum in France have not voiced opposition to the right to abortion.
In response to France’s Abortion Amendment, Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti remarked that France was on the brink of making history by becoming “the first country in the world to safeguard in its constitution the freedom of women.” Despite some conservative senators expressing their reluctant approval, one female senator poignantly noted, “If I vote against it, my daughters will no longer come for Christmas.”
Comparatively, numerous states in the US have enacted prohibitions on abortion, subjecting doctors and healthcare providers to penalties such as imprisonment and the revocation of their medical licenses. Furthermore, Poland’s Constitutional Court recently imposed restrictions on abortions, permitting them only in exceptional circumstances such as rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
As for the specifics of France’s Abortion Amendment, in January 2024, the National Assembly adopted a resolution to enshrine the “freedom” of abortion, aligning with the Macron government’s call for an amendment that explicitly guarantees “the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion.” This linguistic alteration, emphasizing the notion of “guaranteed freedom,” has now gained the Senate’s approval.