France's Landmark Decision: Senate Approves Bill To Constitutionalise Abortion Right

A bill to enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in the constitution was adopted by France's Senate on Wednesday, marking a significant step forward for legislation promised by President Emmanuel Macron in response to a rollback in abortion rights in the United States.

Wednesday's vote followed the overwhelming approval of the proposal by the lower house, the National Assembly, in January.

Senate Approves Bill To Constitutionalise Abortion Right

The measure is now set to be presented before a joint session of parliament for anticipated approval by a three-fifths majority next week. Macron announced after the vote that his government is committed to "making women's right to have an abortion irreversible by enshrining it in the constitution." He stated on X, formerly Twitter, that he would convene a joint session of parliament for a final vote on Monday.

The government under Macron aims to amend Article 34 of the constitution to specify that "the law determines the conditions by which the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed, is exercised." The bill was adopted by the Senate with 267 votes in favour and 50 against. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti described the vote as historic, stating, "The Senate has written a new page in women's rights."

Je me suis engagé à rendre irréversible la liberté des femmes de recourir à lIVG en l’inscrivant dans la Constitution.

Après lAssemblée nationale, le Sénat fait un pas décisif dont je me félicite. Pour le vote final, je convoquerai le Parlement en Congrès le 4 mars.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 28, 2024

None of France's major political parties represented in parliament has raised questions regarding the right to abortion, which was decriminalized in 1975. With both houses of parliament endorsing the bill, Monday's joint session at the Palace of Versailles is expected to be largely ceremonial.

The government argued in its introduction to the bill that the right to abortion is under threat in the United States, where the Supreme Court overturned a 50-year-old ruling that had previously guaranteed it in 2022, reported India Today.

"Unfortunately, this event is not isolated: in many countries, even in Europe, there are currents of opinion that seek to hinder at any cost the freedom of women to terminate their pregnancy if they wish," the introduction to the French legislation states.

In Poland, a controversial tightening of the already restrictive abortion law led to protests in the country last year. The Polish constitutional court ruled in 2020 that women could no longer terminate pregnancies in cases of severe fetal deformities, including Down Syndrome, as reported India Today.