AFP
Apr 28, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Andorra Tuesday to "move forwards" on decriminalising abortion during a visit to the principality, which maintains one of Europe's last total bans on abortion.
His comments come as the micro-state, nestled in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, is considering reforming its abortion laws which currently ban the procedure in all cases.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in the small state of Andorra for a two-day visit, where the sensitive issue of abortion is set to take centre stage. This comes on the heels of a stop in the Pyrénées to discuss economic development and healthcare.
27/04/2026
Macron heads south to the Pyrénées on Monday, starting his trip in Lavelanet, in the southwestern Ariège department.
… The French president is expected to address [abortion] directly, both in a speech to the Andorran people and in talks with his co-prince and the head of government. The Élysée has said he will raise the issue frankly, stressing his long-standing support for women’s right to control their own bodies.
Continued: https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20260427-macron-to-address-abortion-law-debate-in-rare-visit-to-andorra
Spain and France justify enshrining the right to abortion in their Constitutions as a safeguard against a ‘reactionary’ wave that could roll back achievements
Marc Bassets, Berlin
OCT 31, 2025
History never advances in a straight line. Although, as Martin Luther King said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Progress always moves in fits and starts: two steps forward, one step back. This is also the case with women’s rights and equality.
For a decade or more — in Western countries and in the Global South — there have been numerous cases of rights being stripped away after a long period of progress. This regression — according to progressive and liberal political leaders — is linked to the global rise of new forms of authoritarianism and nationalism.
Few things stir as many controversial debates as women’s rights to their own bodies when it comes to abortion. From enshrined rights in the constitution to near total bans, the EU mirrors these divisions.
by enr with AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, BTA, dpa, EFE, Europa Press, FENA, HINA, PAP, STA
21.Oct 2025
Abortion legislation across the European Union is highly diverse, ranging from some of the world’s most liberal frameworks to some of the most strict. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) advocacy group, only 34 percent of women of reproductive age live in countries (77) where abortion is available to them. It says backstreet abortions lead to 39,000 deaths per year.
The European Parliament has called for abortion rights to be included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, but this remains under debate and would require unanimous agreement.
July 28, 2025
By Rachel Treisman, NPR
The State Department has confirmed plans to destroy millions of dollars' worth of taxpayer-funded contraceptives meant for women in low-income countries. The controversial move comes as the Trump administration continues to scale back foreign aid.
A stockpile of family planning products — including IUDs, implants and pills — worth $9.7 million has been stuck at a warehouse in Belgium since the administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and froze foreign aid earlier this year, according to statements from multiple humanitarian groups and U.S. lawmakers.
2024 is not only the year France hosts the Summer Olympics but also marks the year France became the first country to explicitly protect abortion in its constitution.
July 24, 2024
Center for Reproductive Rights
More than 15 million visitors are expected to travel to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, taking place from July 26 to August 11. While these visitors are there to support their national teams, it also presents an opportunity to reflect on how their home countries compare to the host nation in terms of abortion rights and access.
In a historic milestone for reproductive rights in Europe, on March 4, 2024, France’s parliament voted overwhelmingly, by 780-72, to revise the country’s 1958 constitution to enshrine women’s “guaranteed freedom” to access abortion. President of France, Emmanuel Macron, described the decision as sending a universal message.”
Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/paris-olympics-france-abortion-law/
June 15, 2024
By Kathryn Armstrong, BBC News
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says a suspected row over the absence of the word "abortion" in a G7 statement has been blown out of proportion.
She issued the response after a commitment made last year by G7 nations to address access to "safe and legal abortion" was left out of the final statement at this year's summit in Italy.
The U.S. and France offer starkly different environments for women—but both countries share a strong feminist tradition. How do we explain their radically different abortion trajectories?
3/27/2024
by SHOSHANNA EHRLICH and LAURA FRADER, Ms. Magazine
In 2023, seeking “to avoid a U.S.-like scenario for women in France, as hard-right groups are gaining ground,” President Emmanuel Macron promised a constitutional amendment affirming women’s right to abortion and to control over their own bodies. The amendment subsequently passed by a crushing majority of 780 to 72 votes and was inserted ceremoniously into the French Constitution on March 8, 2024, International Women’s Day.
In celebration, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with the message “My Body, My Choice.” This global first came approximately 50 years after the French Parliament first voted to decriminalize abortion with the passage of the Veil Law, named for feminist minister of health Simone Veil, who championed the reform.
Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2024/03/27/france-abortion-usa-bans-constitution-right/
Abortion rights are featuring in this year’s European election campaign in a way we have not seen before.
MAGDALENA FRENNHOFF LARSÉN
15th March 2024
The recent landmark decision in France to inscribe the right to abortion in the constitution serves to protect the law that first legalised abortion in the country in 1975. This law—the so-called Veil law—was championed by Simone Veil, one of France’s most admired and respected political figures, and an icon of the women’s-rights movement.
In 1974, Veil, a magistrate who had been asked by the French president, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, to serve as health minister in his government, delivered a momentous speech. She presented the public-health case for the decriminalisation of abortion to the National Assembly, which at the time was composed almost entirely of men.
Continued: https://www.socialeurope.eu/abortion-rights-at-issue-in-european-elections
March 13, 2024
Magdalena Frennhoff Larsén
The recent landmark decision in France to inscribe the right to abortion in the constitution serves to protect the law that first legalised abortion in the country in 1975. This law – the so-called Veil law – was championed by Simone Veil, one of France’s most admired and respected political figures, and an icon of the women’s rights movement.
In 1974, Veil, a magistrate who had been asked by French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing to serve as health minister in his government, delivered a momentous speech. She presented the public health case for the decriminalisation of abortion to the National Assembly, which at the time was composed almost entirely of men.
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
LinkedIn