A hanger with the words “Abortion is sacred” during a demonstration in support of abortion rights in Paris (EPA/Mohammed Badra)
A final vote is still missing, but at this point the chances of the law being approved are quite high: it is a proposal that has been discussed for almost two years
On Wednesday evening, the French Senate approved, with 267 votes in favor and 50 against, a bill that would add women's freedom to have abortions to the constitution. It is a very important decision for France, where this proposal has been discussed for almost two years. The proposal includes “the freedom guaranteed to women to terminate a pregnancy” in Article 34 of the Constitution and was already approved by the French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, last January. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti commented on the news, saying: “Tonight the Senate wrote a new page on the subject of women's rights.”
To be finally adopted, the law must be approved by three-fifths of the parliamentarians of the Assembly and the Senate gathered in the plenary session of the so-called Versailles Congress: the French President Emmanuel Macron, who is in favor of incorporating the law into the Constitution, he has called the meeting for next March 4th. At this point, the chances of the change being approved are quite high as both chambers have already given their approval.
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I am committed to ensuring that the freedom of women To for the IVG becomes irreversible through registration in the constitution.
After the National Assembly, the Senate made a decision that doesn't make me happy. You will convene Parliament in Congress on March 4th for the final vote.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 28, 2024
The outcome of Wednesday's vote was uncertain until recently because the majority in the Senate belongs to the Republicans, a center-right party whose representatives are particularly conservative. In the discussion before the final vote, the party announced that there had been no indication of a vote and that its members would vote “each according to their own deeply held convictions”.
The result of the vote was welcomed by many feminist associations active in France. The Fondation des Femmes, which is active in the field of gender policy, described the vote as “historic” and “a collective victory”.
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The Fondation des Femmes is pleased with the vote on the history of the Senate for the constitutionalization of the right to succeed. I vote for a collective victory for women's associations and a strong signal to women all over the world! #IVGconstitution
— Fondation des Femmes (@Fondationfemmes) February 28, 2024
In France, none of the parties in parliament want to make abortion illegal, which was decriminalized in 1975. However, Republicans and particularly the Rassemblement National, a far-right party, opposed its inclusion in the constitution, arguing that it was a criminal and unnecessary measure.
The process of strengthening abortion rights in France had already begun in 2022, after the US Supreme Court decided to revoke the right to abortion at the federal level. In November 2022, the French National Assembly passed by a large majority a draft constitution that provided for the inclusion of the “right to voluntary abortion” in the constitution. In February 2023, the bill was passed by the Senate, but the word “right-wing” was replaced by the less succinct phrase “women’s freedom.” At the end of 2023, Macron finally presented another bill that changed “women’s freedom” to “guaranteed women’s freedom”.
Also rejected during Wednesday's meeting was an amendment that would have added to the constitution the right for doctors to conscientious objection to abortion, which is already legal in France.
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