France, on Monday, enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups as historic but harshly criticized by anti-abortion groups.
MPs and senators overwhelmingly backed the move, by 780 votes against 72, in a special joint vote of the two houses of parliament, under the gilded ceilings of Versailles Palace, just outside Paris.
Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the United States and many other countries, with polls showing around 80% of French people back the fact that abortion is legal.
“We’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you,” France’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law - which many harshly criticized at the time.
Monday’s vote enshrined in Article 34 of the French constitution that “the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion.”
Criticism
The move has been heavily criticized by others. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said French President Emmanuel Macron was using it to score political points because of the large support for the right to abortion in the country.
Pascale Morinière, the president of the Association of Catholic Families, called the move a defeat for anti-abortion campaigners.
Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the United States and many other countries, with polls showing around 80% of French people back the fact that abortion is legal.
“We’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you,” France’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law - which many harshly criticized at the time.
Monday’s vote enshrined in Article 34 of the French constitution that “the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion.”
Criticism
The move has been heavily criticized by others. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said French President Emmanuel Macron was using it to score political points because of the large support for the right to abortion in the country.
Pascale Morinière, the president of the Association of Catholic Families, called the move a defeat for anti-abortion campaigners.
Source: Reuters
