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Why is France making abortion a constitutional right?

By on March 3, 2024

By Joanna Gill

Published: February 29, 2024

What’s the context?

France is on track to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, with backing for the pioneering step galvanised by US rollback

  • Senate backs making abortion a woman’s right
  • French act in wake of US backtrack on Roe v. Wade
  • Campaigners hope for domino effect across Europe

BRUSSELS – Flying in the face of a U.S. rollback on reproductive rights, France moved closer on Wednesday to making abortion a woman’s constitutional right – a push hailed as a world first by supporters.

Lawmakers in the Senate overwhelmingly backed a constitutional amendment to grant women a “guaranteed freedom” to end any unwanted pregnancy up to 14 weeks. Final approval is expected in a special joint session of lawmakers due in the coming days.

The French effort to constitutionalise abortion was a direct response to the rollback of reproductive rights in the United States by the Supreme Court in 2022.

Supporters say the measure would better protect women’s rights because it is harder to change the constitution, while opponents say it is superfluous, as abortion access is already guaranteed.

Here is what you need to know about abortion in France today and what message the reform might send to the rest of Europe, where most countries offer access to abortion in the first 12-14 weeks of pregnancy, while Poland and Malta have de-facto bans.

What are the rules in France and why change them?

Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since 1975 and current law permits a termination up to 14 weeks.

In 1988, it became the first country to legalise the use of mifepristone as an abortion drug. The cost of abortion, surgical or drug-induced, is covered by national health insurance.

While abortion is widely available and has few legal limitations in France, supporters of the constitutional amendment bill say it sends a strong signal to increasingly vocal opponents of women’s rights.

Abortion campaigners point to the rising power of far-right political groups in France and in pockets across Europe, citing attempts to limit reproductive rights in Hungary and Poland.

Will change mean access to abortion is irreversible?

After clearing the Senate, the bill goes to both houses in the coming days when lawmakers must vote together to ratify adoption. Because both houses have already approved the change, that is seen as largely a formality.

While making it a constitutional right would give women extra protection and make it harder for lawmakers to backtrack, the bill’s provisions are not cast in stone, say campaigners.

Some want more liberalisation, extending the legal deadline beyond 14 weeks, while others are pushing for better access in rural areas, or want women to be offered choices should medics refuse to carry out an abortion due to their personal beliefs.

Could this have a knock-on effect across the European Union?

Most EU countries offer some form of access to abortion in the first trimester, but campaigners cite limitations such as the right to refuse services due to conscientious objection, cost or the criminalisation of abortion in some nations.

Poland and Malta are the most restrictive in the bloc, while the Dutch and British allow abortion up to 24 weeks, the longest window for accessing a termination in Europe.

Women’s campaigners hope the French move might embolden other countries to follow suit, though some fear it also risks provoking a backlash in conservative strongholds.

It could also boost efforts to add abortion to the European Charter of Fundamental Rights safeguarding abortion access across the EU.

(Reporting by Joanna Gill; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths.)

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Feature Slider Image: People hold a banner which reads ‘Abortion is a fundamental right’ during a demonstration organised by the collective ‘Abortion Europe, women decide’ as the French Senate examines a bill to include abortion in the Constitution, at the Place de la Sorbonne in Paris, France, February 28, 2024. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

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