France Officially Seals Abortion Rights Into Constitution on International Women’s Day
Summary from the AllSides News Team
France held a ceremony to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Friday — becoming the first country to do so — as the world celebrated International Women’s Day.
The Details: On Monday, lawmakers approved a bill that comprehensively protects a woman's right to abortion within France’s constitution. The bill, endorsed by President Emmanuel Macron and passed with a 780-72 vote, followed the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a prior ruling that protected pre-viability abortion. French officials said they sought to avoid similar rollbacks in their own country.
For Context: French law allows elective abortions up to 14 weeks after conception. The right to abortion is widely popular in the country, with public support as high as 80% in recent polls.
Key Quote: French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to push for abortion protections across Europe, saying, “We will wage this battle on our continent, in our Europe, where reactionary forces first and always attack women’s rights, before going on to attack the rights of minorities, of all the oppressed, of all freedoms.”
How the Media Covered It: News coverage appeared rare in right-rated outlets, but some published opinions on the story; a Daily Signal (Right bias) op-ed called France’s decision a “National Disgrace,” and a writer in The American Conservative (Right bias) called it “constitutional protection for infanticide.” News and opinions were more common on the left, where the decision was hailed as “historic” and a departure from GOP abortion restrictions. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
France enshrines abortion as a constitutional right as the world marks International Women’s DayFrance inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution Friday, in a world first and a powerful message of support to women around the globe on International Women’s Day.
A woman from Argentina, a couple from Miami and a man from Czechia were among those gathered on the polished cobblestones of Place Vendome in Paris to watch the historic event unfurl in an outdoor ceremony open the public. Women in the crowd recalled their own abortions, or lifelong battles for reproductive rights.
While abortion is a deeply divisive issue in...
From the Center
France's Macron wants to make abortion a right at EU levelFrench President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he wants the European Union to guarantee the right to an abortion in its Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Macron was speaking at a ceremony held in Paris, where Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti used a centuries-old press to seal the right to abortion into the French constitution, following an overwhelming vote by lawmakers on Monday.
"Today is not the end of the story but the start of a fight," Macron told the ceremony, which coincided with International Women's Day.
"We're going to lead this fight...
From the Right
France’s Abortion Move Is Characteristic—and a Warning to the U.S.On International Women’s Day, it is the tradition of modern women to grumble about men. Permit me to join them: My grievance is with the majority male French Parliament, which on Monday voted overwhelmingly to enshrine a right to abortion in the French constitution.
France’s move is mostly symbolic: The country prides itself on being ahead of the curve of liberal democracy, meaning the legal freedom to kill the unborn is unlikely to be curtailed in French law regardless of what the constitution says. But after the United States Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision,...
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