Globally, Abortion Rights Are on the March

France’s historic move to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution is in line with global trends: Countries are expanding, not curtailing, abortion access.

By Elliott Davis Jr. and Kaia Hubbard
March 5, 2024

France’s historic move to amend its constitution and enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion put the country in rare company.

While the amendment didn’t necessarily expand access to abortion in France – the practice has been legal there since 1975 – it did mark the first time a country has guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion, according to The Associated Press. France’s amendment goes further than the former Yugoslavia, whose 1974 constitution stated that “a person is free to decide on having children,” and all of its successor states have adopted similar measures in their constitutions, while not explicitly guaranteeing the right to have an abortion.

Continued: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/global-trends-move-toward-abortion-rights

05.03.2024

News

abortion law reform

Center for Reproductive Rights

As France makes abortion a constitutional right, UK women see sharp rise in abortion convictions

A law dating from 1861 is being used to prosecute women in England and Wales, in at least one case leading to incarceration.

March 4, 2024
By: Lara BULLENS

France has become the only country in the world to protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its constitution after abortion access was officially added to the freedoms guaranteed in the French constitution on Monday. The move was a direct reaction to the rollback of abortion rights in the United States and elsewhere.

But across the English Channel, women are still at risk of prosecution for having the procedure because abortion in the UK has not been decriminalised. Britain is facing a sharp rise in abortion convictions, with a law dating from 1861 being used to prosecute women and in at least one case leading to incarceration.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240304-france-abortion-constitution-right-uk-woman-sharp-rise-abortion-convictions-england

French lawmakers approve a bill that makes abortion a constitutional right

French lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy

By BARBARA SURK and NICOLAS GARRIGA, Associated Press
March 4, 2024

PARIS -- French lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France's constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.

The historic move was proposed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the United States in recent years, and the vote during a special joint session of France's parliament drew a long standing ovation among lawmakers.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-lawmakers-gather-historic-vote-make-abortion-constitutional-107766852

04.03.2024

News

abortion law reform

constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights

Emmanual Macron

enshrining abortion rights in constitution

As France guarantees the right to abortion, other European countries look to expand access

France has become the only country to explicitly guarantee the right to abortion in its constitution and other Europeans wonder whether a rollback of rights like the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision could happen in their countries

By The Associated Press
March 4, 2024

PARIS -- As France becomes the only country to explicitly guarantee the right to abortion in its constitution, other Europeans look at the U.S. rollback of abortion access and wonder: Could that happen here?

Abortion is broadly legal across Europe, and governments have been gradually expanding abortion rights, with some exceptions. Women can access abortion in more than 40 European nations from Portugal to Russia, with varying rules on how late in a pregnancy it is allowed. Abortion is banned or tightly restricted in Poland and a handful of tiny countries.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/france-guarantees-abortion-european-countries-expand-access-107786090

04.03.2024

Commentary

constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights

enshrining abortion rights in constitution

France adds abortion rights to the constitution. Could it happen in Canada?

France's upgrading of abortion rights is a bold political message in a world that is increasingly veering to the far right.

By Allan Woods, Staff Reporter
Monday, March 4, 2024

PARIS—However linked the two countries' histories, however shared their values, it is difficult to imagine Canada following in France's footsteps to enshrine the right to abortion in the Constitution.

French lawmakers did that Monday in a historic vote at Château de Versailles that puts the ability to end a pregnancy right up there with the country’s famous motto: "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité."

Continued: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/france-adds-abortion-rights-to-the-constitution-could-it-happen-in-canada/article_04bc5ff0-da42-11ee-959b-e3b780f9717f.html

French Sénat approves bill to make abortion a constitutional ‘freedom’

The conservative-dominated Sénat, with 267 votes to 50, approved the bill to constitutionalize abortion as a 'guaranteed freedom.' President Emmanuel Macron will call a joint session of Parliament on March 4 for a final vote on the reform.

Le Monde with AP and AFP
February 28, 2024

France's Sénat on Wednesday, February 28, adopted a bill to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the Constitution, clearing a key hurdle for legislation promised by President Emmanuel Macron in response to a rollback in abortion rights in the United States.

With 267 votes in favor and 50 against, the Sénat voted in favor of constitutionalizing abortion. Wednesday's vote came after the Assemblée Nationale, overwhelmingly approved the proposal in January. The measure now goes before a joint session of Parliament for its expected approval by a three-fifths majority next week.

Continued: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/02/28/french-senat-votes-to-make-abortion-a-constitutional-freedom_6569515_7.html

28.02.2024

News

Emmanual Macron

enshrining abortion rights in constitution

French women got a wakeup call on abortion rights from their US sisters

Opinion by Jill Filipovic
Thu February 1, 2024

It’s a strange moment to be an American feminist who cares deeply about women’s rights beyond her own country’s borders.

On one hand, there is so much to be heartened by: expansions of women’s rights in much of the world, feminist protests galvanizing women across continents, abortion rights on the rise, necessary attention paid to the particular price paid by women in conflict. And then there is our own country, one of the very few where abortion rights have been radically scaled back rather than expanded, where anti-feminist movements are quickly racking up (often unpopular) wins and broadening their efforts to wind back women’s progress and where a large chunk of the electorate is eager to put a notoriously sexist man found liable for sexual abuse back into the highest office in the land.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/opinions/abortion-rights-france-constitution-filipovic/index.html

01.02.2024

Opinion

French National Assembly

France on-track to constitutionalize abortion rights

By Claudia Colliva and Maya Szaniecki, CNN
Tue January 30, 2024

The French National Assembly has passed a historic bill that moves the country one step closer to enshrining the right to abortion in its constitution.

In a vote in the lower house of the French parliament on Tuesday, 493 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, 30 against. The bill will now move to the Senate for debate and a vote and, if approved, a special body composed of both chambers of the parliament will meet again for its adoption.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/europe/france-abortion-rights-vote-intl/index.html

Emmanuel Macron is playing a dangerous game with abortion rights in France

The president is flirting with the pro-natalist far right, even as parliament debates whether to enshrine pro-choice laws

Cécile Simmons, The Guardian
Sun 28 Jan 2024

France needs babies. During a press conference on 16 January, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, pledged to tackle the scourge of infertility and offered enhanced parental “childbirth leave” as part of his “demographic rearmament” plan to revive the country’s declining birthrate.

While his goals may be commendable, Macron’s rhetoric sounds alarmingly close to that of authoritarian and rightwing populist leaders who have been aggressively pursuing pro-natalist policies in recent years. After all, Vladimir Putin recently urged Russian women to have “eight or more children” as he seeks to reverse the decades of population decline that have only been exacerbated by heavy casualties in Ukraine.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/28/emmanuel-macron-abortion-france-president-natalist-far-right-laws

French parliament considers constitutionalization of right to abortion

Parliamentarians in France begin discussing a motion to enshrine the right to abortion into the constitution, offering stronger protections of women’s health rights

January 26, 2024
by Peoples Health Dispatch

On Wednesday, January 24, the French parliament began considering incorporating the right to abortion into the constitution. This initiative follows the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, dealing a significant blow to women in the US. One of the earliest proposals came from parliamentarian Mathilde Panot of La France Insoumise in 2022, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing to protect abortion care last year.

The idea of constitutionalizing abortion enjoys widespread support among the public and parties of the left. On the other hand, Gérard Larcher from the conservative party Les Républicains, the current president of the French Senate, commented that the move is unnecessary as women in France already have adequate access to abortion, and their reproductive rights are secured.

Continued: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/01/26/french-parliament-considers-constitutionalization-of-right-to-abortion/

26.01.2024