Welcoming Abortion as a Constitutional Right in France

Background

On March 4, France passed a law in the Palace of Versailles enshrining the right to abortion in the French Constitution. This landmark decision makes France the only country in the world to make the right to abortion a basic right by explicitly including the same in the Constitution. Passed with a majority of 780 votes out of a total of 902, this step is just one more forward in a long line of judicial and legislative decisions which protect women’s reproductive rights in the country.

Abortion was decriminalized in France in 1975 through the Veil Act, legalizing abortion up till 10 weeks of pregnancy, in the Public Health Code. In 2001, the law was amended to further extend this limit till 12 weeks of pregnancy. There has since been further expansion to make abortion easier and more accessible, by enacting provisions which allow Social Security to cover the complete expenses of abortion. In 2014, a legislation removed the condition of “situation of distress” required to get an abortion, allowing women to get abortions without having to fulfill certain prerequisites. In 2022, the limit to get an abortion was increased from 12 weeks to 14 weeks.

The 2024 law continues this tradition, amending Article 34 of the French Constitution which determines the statute-making power of the Parliament. The amendment states that “the law determines the conditions by which is exercised the freedom of women to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy, which is guaranteed.” This essentially ensures that any future government will not be able to change the existing abortion laws drastically. The right to abortion is constitutionally protected and cannot be altered by the government.

International Context

This move potentially comes as a response to a wave of anti-abortion efforts, specifically the judgement of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in the USA. Overturning the judgement of Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, the ruling held that the right to abortion was not a constitutional right in the USA. This decision came as a blow to the general status of women’s rights in the nation as the American judicial structure then allows the individual courts of each state to determine the legality and the conditions of abortion by themselves, without any sort of central guarantee or protection of reproductive rights. This has since resulted in abortion becoming virtually inaccessible in several states, with state legislatures passing bills which put drastic restrictions on abortion and make access extremely difficult.

While other European nations are more progressive in terms of legalizing abortion and reducing restrictions, there has been a recent trend of adding conditions which could serve to discourage abortion even if the woman in question wishes to have one. For example, Hungary, in September 2022, passed a legislation which mandated women to listen to the pulse of the foetus, incorrectly termed as the “foetal heartbeat” before being able to access a safe abortion.

Poland has perhaps the strictest abortion laws in Europe, only allowing abortion in cases of rape, incest or threat to the mother’s life. The restrictions were further tightened in 2020 where it was ruled that terminating a pregnancy due to defects in the foetus is unconstitutional. Malta too has a similar approach to matters of abortion.

Italy allows abortion up to 12 weeks and this can be extended if there is a threat to the life of the mother. However, medical practitioners can also be registered as “conscientious objectors” to the process. This makes it easy to access abortions services in theory, but extremely difficult to do so in practice as doctors may not agree to carry out the procedure if it goes against their own subjective moral reasoning.

Impact of Decision

Thus France’s move comes as a welcome decision in terms of protecting women’s autonomy. The law itself has been largely well received in the country, with 81% of the respondents in a 2022 poll supporting the idea of a constitutional enshrinement. Most political parties also have general support for the issue, with much less polarization than many other nations. However, certain Catholic groups have protested on grounds of pro-life beliefs.

The decision also has larger implications as scholars hope this could create a ripple effect to allow further discourse in expanding the notion of female reproductive rights across Europe, including in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. This is important as the above mentioned countries are all part of the European Union, and including abortion in a more centralized charter could aid in making abortion more accessible by regulating what kinds of laws countries can make, limiting the restrictions which can be imposed.

The decision is also of major consequence as the questions of female bodily autonomy become more relevant. While there is often a conflict between pro-life and pro-choice groups over the topic, these are further aggravated by polarizing political efforts and societal discourse. The fundamental question of whether an embryo or a foetus can be counted as living humans varies as per jurisdiction and ideology but the focus is often diverted from the impact on the mother. The requirements and restraints imposed by childbirth and child-rearing have a significant effect on almost all aspects of an individual’s life and they should be allowed to have some autonomy in the decision. Allowing abortion as a basic protected right sets the narrative that having autonomy over one’s body is a fundamental human right, an aspect which is often ignored when legislating on abortion.

Conclusion

In an increasingly polarized world, it is crucial to have some sort of safeguard, which protects abortion from particular political or moral beliefs that a legislative body or the executive may have.

Moreover, given the considerable overlap in how women’s identities are tied to their reproductive ability, abortion rights reflect how women are viewed and treated in a particular society. The issue of female empowerment is irrevocably enmeshed, and until reproductive rights are actually restored and respected, progress of women’s rights remains an almost impossible task. Thus constitutional protection sets an admirable precedent for how to move forward on such topics and it is hoped that other countries will follow.