France was the first country in the world to include “freedom to have an abortion” in its constitution. The members of both chambers of Parliament voted in favor of the corresponding constitutional amendment on Monday evening at the Palace of Versailles with 780 votes to 72. The announcement of the result was greeted with sustained applause.
Cheers erupted in the square opposite the Eiffel Tower. Numerous people watched the debate and vote on a large screen. The Eiffel Tower glittered in homage. “France’s pride. Universal message,” wrote French President Emmanuel Macron on the online service X.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spoke of a “moral guilt” towards all women who suffered. “We are haunted by the suffering and the memory of so many and so many women who have suffered for decades from not being able to be free,” he emphasized, welcoming the “successful conclusion of a long struggle.”
During the vote, several hundred anti-abortion activists gathered near the Congress in Versailles to protest the constitutional amendment. The Catholic Church also made it clear that it continues to reject abortions. The Pontifical Academy for Life said, according to broadcaster BFMTV: “In the age of universal human rights, there can be no ‘right’ to destroy a human life.”
Abortions up to the tenth week of pregnancy have been unpunished in France since 1975. Pregnant women in France can now have an abortion up to the 14th week; the costs are covered by the health insurance company.
The document was stamped with a state seal in Versailles using a historic sealing press. It is to be ceremoniously sealed again on International Women’s Day on March 8th.
