France: Abortion Still on the Constitutional Reform Menu

The question of including a so-called right to abortion in the French Constitution resurfaced from the parliamentary mists in 2022 after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned earlier decisions granting the right to abortion.

On November 24, 2022, thanks to an agreement between the left and the presidential majority, a text proposing that the law “guarantee the effectiveness and equal access to the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy” was adopted at first reading before being significantly modified in the Senate.

Indeed, an amendment from Senator LR Philippe Bas proposed the following wording: “The law determines the conditions under which a woman’s freedom to end her pregnancy is exercised,” with “freedom,” replacing “right.”

It is a subtle modification conceded with regret by the left-wing senators in order not to bury the text which was adopted on February 1 by 166 votes against 152. But since then, the referral of the bill for second reading in the National Assembly is slow in coming.

Pro-abortion lobbies reacted differently to the news. In a press release published immediately, the Women’s Foundation stated that it “welcomes the President of the Republic’s desire to move forward” but warns that it “will be attentive to the implementation of this announcement and the wording adopted.”

Planned Parenthood expressed its disappointment. “So nothing new, no commitment.… We expected a more important speech from the President of the Republic, and there was only one sentence in his speech,” stated Planned Parenthood president Sarah Durocher, who added that the organization “would have deserved more in the context where anti-choice movements are very present and the Planned Parenthood branches are being attacked.”