“If you don’t give up in the end you win” (Bauer-Babef, 2024). That was what the member of Senate, Mélanie Vogel, commented on March 4th after the right to abortion had just been enshrined in the text of the French constitution, with 780 votes in favour and 72 against.
The political debate on the accessibility and protection of the IVG (voluntary interruption of pregnancy) in France became more heated soon after the US Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that made the access to abortion a federal right in the USA. In Europe the situation was not encouraging as well with numerous countries, such as Poland, Hungary and Malta, in which legislations strictly limit or even prohibit the interruption of pregnancy, or Italy, where the law 194 legalizing IVG introduced the clause of conscientious objection, which now represents 64,6% of gynaecologists in the country (Ministero della Salute, 2022), which de facto implies restrictions on its accessibility.
In 1975, the promulgation of the Veil Law first decriminalised the voluntary interruption of pregnancy in France, allowing it to be carried out within the tenth week, which was later extended to fourteenth. From there, many other legislations managed to improve the legal framework of abortion, by providing women with better health care assistance and conditions and by allowing an anonymous and free access to IVG (French Government, 2024). In October 2023, the French president Emmanuel Macron announced his intention to propose a Constitutional law aimed at protecting the right to IVG, which after a long legislative process was finally approved by the Chambers of Parliament in joint session, easily reaching the three-fifths majority required, at Versailles, thus making France the first country to enshrine the freedom to abortion in its constitution (Mazuir, 2024).
As a result, the article 34 of the French Constitution now specifies that “The law determines the conditions under which the freedom is guaranteed to a woman to resort to voluntarily terminating a pregnancy". The approval of the amendment, according to Macron, is to be seen as a “French pride” and sends a universal message to the women around the world. (Le Monde, 2024)
Insofar as this must be considered an extremely important step for women’s rights, especially in France, it’s necessary to notice that the wording of the law, carefully chosen to reach a collective agreement, is not too ambitious, the initial “right” was then substituted by “guaranteed freedom”, and does not assure that in a near future an anti-abortion government will not change the conditions of IVG, creating limitations on its accessibility.
Nonetheless, March 4th was a crucial and extremely symbolic day in the fight for the right of IVG, as also a step further for women’s liberation from oppressive and bigot norms. Especially in times like these, in which abortion rights are undergoing a major backlash in western countries and women all over the world live in conditions not even resembling equality, France is sending a message loud and clear, supported by 81% of its population according to a IFOP survey. (ifop, 2022)
“We will continue to fight to enshrine the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights” said MP Mathilde Panot (Bauer-Babef, 2024), which leads to believe that this vote will also represent a contribution to Europe’s advancement and, hopefully, that of many other countries.
Bibliography
Bauer-Babef, C. (2024, March 5). France enshrines abortion in its Constitution, a world first. Retrieved from EURACTIVE: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/france-enshrines-abortion-in-its-constitution-a-world-first/
French Government. (2024, March 11). Le droit à l'avortement. Récupéré sur Le Site Officiel sur l'IVG: https://ivg.gouv.fr/le-droit-lavortement
ifop. (2022, 07 05). LES FRANÇAIS VEULENT-ILS CONSTITUTIONNALISER LE DROIT À L’AVORTEMENT EN FRANCE ? Récupéré sur ifop: https://www.ifop.com/publication/les-francais-veulent-ils-constitutionnaliser-le-droit-a-lavortement-en-france/#:~:text=La%20d%C3%A9cision%20de%20la%20Cour,a%20pr%C3%A8s%20de%20cinquante%20ans.
Le Monde. (2024, March 4). France enshrines 'freedom' to abortion in Constitution, in world first. Retrieved from Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/03/04/france-enshrines-freedom-to-abortion-in-constitution-in-world-first_6584252_5.html
Mazuir, V. (2024, March 4). IVG dans la Constitution: ce qu'il faut savoir. Récupéré sur Les Echos: https://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/societe/ivg-dans-la-constitution-ce-quil-faut-savoir-2072211
Ministero della Salute. (2022, June 13). Relazione annuale al Parlamento sull'interruzione volontaria di gravidanza. Tratto da Ministero della Salute: https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/news/p3_2_1_1_1.jsplingua=italiano&menu=notizie&p=dalministero&id=5929
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