On Monday, France became the first country in the world to enshrine abortion rights in its national constitution. On a 780 to 72 vote, lawmakers explicitly concluded that, in Article 34, "the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion." Women have had the right to abortion under French law since 1974, and none of the country's major political parties currently represented in parliament have questioned the essential right to abortion. But French feminist activists were prompted to cement legal protections after the United States Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning federal protection of US abortion rights.
"This right (to abortion) has retreated in the United States. And so nothing authorized us to think that France was exempt from this risk," Laura Slimani, from the Fondation des Femmes rights group, told Reuters after the passage of the legislation. "There's a lot of emotion, as a feminist activist, also as a woman."
As reported by the New York Times, French justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti said the new clause of Article 34 — which regards abortion as a "guaranteed freedom" — prevents future governments from “drastically modify(ing)” current laws funding abortion up to 14 weeks into a pregnancy.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told MPs and senators gathered at the Versailles Palace for the special vote that France is "sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you."
Celebrations erupted in Paris following the vote. As captured on video by The Washington Post's Karla Adam, triumphant music and dancing filled the streets against a backdrop of a sparkling Eiffel Tower as activists and women of all ages embraced in victory.
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