After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many people around the world were left with the question of whether abortion access should be a constitutional right, a question that the French Parliament answered with an emphatic yes.
In a vote, where out of 925 members of Parliament, 780 voted in support of the amendment and only 72 voted against it, the amendment was passed to great celebration. Even the Eiffel Tower was marked for the occasion, being lit up to say, “My body, my choice.”
Alongside the French Parliament, French citizens are also celebrating this monumental moment.
“It’s a big step in the evolution of women’s rights, and the fact that France chose to enforce it in the constitution is also very inspiring since France is a representative of Europe, as it’s also the founding country of the European Union,” said Andrea Hen, a French citizen.
Since France is such a large country and plays such an important role, many believe the amendment may be able to counteract the effects of Roe v. Wade’s overturning. Although this amendment is something commendable, some believe there are ulterior motives for this ruling.
“I suspect that Macron [the French president] saw the measure as a way to curry favor with the public after the yellow vest protest movement and the highly controversial reform to the retirement system.”
This belief is mirrored by a few French citizens who, while still excited about the new ruling, refuse to allow it to outshine the more controversial decisions their government has made over the past few years.
“The way I see it, the choice to make abortion a constitutional right was primarily to cool off steam and calm down the tensions around other decisions that were enforced lately,” Hen said.
When looking at the new amendment from this lens, it offers a look that is not as rosy as simply advocating for women’s rights, but that then brings up the question of if the government should be involved in women’s reproductive rights at all.
“No, government bodies should not have a say in what women do in terms of making healthcare decisions,” said Justine Savizon, a senior public health major. “If there are any laws to be made, they definitely should consult healthcare professionals.”
For Newsome, the topic was a bit more nuanced, as he looked through it from a more historical context.
“In the aftermath of World War 1, when so many people had been killed, Parliament outlawed not only abortion but also the distribution of birth control information in an effort to force families to have more children,” Newsome said. “Not until 1975 was abortion legalized.”
For the French Parliament to go from completely outlawing abortion to fully enshrining it within their constitution shows just how far the country has come as a whole in pushing forth what could be considered a golden standard for women’s rights.
“Despite the mix of motives behind the proposal of the new constitutional amendment, its adoption does enshrine women’s reproductive rights as a key element of liberté, égalité, fraternité — the national motto of the Republic,” Newsome said.
The enshrining of abortion rights into the French constitution has provided French women with protection now and in the foreseeable future.
