French National Assembly adopted a bid to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution
On November 24th, 2022, the French National Assembly adopted by a large majority a bid to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution, prompted largely by recent tightening of abortion laws in the United States and Poland.
If the bid is adopted by the Senate, a clause guaranteeing "the effectiveness and equal access to the right to end pregnancy voluntarily" could be incorporated in the French constitution. The right to abortion would become a fundamental right and, as such, receive the highest level of protection available under the French legal system.
A change of constitution would also need to be put to a referendum, but opinion polls suggest more than 80% of French voters would vote in favor.
In France, the right to abortion has been protected by law since 1975, when abortion was first decriminalized. At that time, women were authorized to abort up to ten weeks of pregnancy. A conscience clause allowed (and still does allow) medical practitioners to refuse to take a part in abortions.
The time limit for abortion was then extended to twelve weeks in 2001, then to fourteen weeks in March this year. Over the years, other abortion laws have been adopted which for instance create the offense of obstructing the voluntary termination of pregnancy (1993), make emergency contraception available to everyone (2000), allow minors access to abortion in secret and remove restrictions on access to abortion for foreigners (2001), provide for the complete reimbursement of abortion costs for all women (2013), remove the notion of distress from the conditions for recourse to abortion (2014).
Even though the legal framework surrounding abortion appears to be quite protective, a majority of the French National Assembly members believe that enshrining the right to abortion in the Constitution would help prevent any “backsliding” as seen in the United States and Poland, where abortion bans are now being enforced.