French lawmakers at the Palace of Versaille voted in favour of the final step of the legislative process in expressly providing for the freedom to access abortion in their Constitution on Monday 4 March 2024. Both of the French houses of parliament approved the measure, surpassing the required three fifths majority, as the bill received 780 votes of 852 available. This outcome reinforced the findings of recent polls which found that 80% of French people support the legalisation of abortion. Abortion was first legalised in France in 1974 through legislation, but the new bill seeks to amend Article 34 of the French Constitution, to entrench abortion access by express use of the word, amending to the following: “the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion.”
The Bill is a protective measure, to the effect that governments in the future will not be in a position to drastically modify the current laws without constitutional amendment. Enshrining access within the Constitution was influenced by the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade, a decision which overturned a previous ruling from the 1970’s, and withdrew the constitutional protection of a woman’s ability choose to access an abortion.
Important roles in promoting and progressing the bill were played by President Macron, who made promises around the protection of abortion access following the US Supreme Court decision, and also by feminist groups of activists and legislators, likely encouraged by the broad support of abortion access among French people. However, the move was not without opposition, with the Vatican and the French Conference of Bishops being among those in dissent.
The current law surrounding access to abortion in France takes a more liberal approach than most other European jurisdictions. It sets out to recognise the right for women and minors to avail of abortions, completely funded, available until the fourteenth week of pregnancy. Access is not constrained by any requirements to attend counselling sessions or undergo a waiting period, and there are exceptions made for abortions later on in the pregnancy for specified health grounds of the woman and/or foetus. Thus, while there are strong rights in place for access to abortion, the passing of this bill means a strengthened and enhanced protection of these rights from potential attempts in the future to withdraw access, as seen in the United States.
While a few other countries have explicitly acknowledged abortion in their Constitutions, to solely facilitate it in select circumstances, this step makes France the first country in the world to expressly guarantee freedom to access abortion within their Constitution.