French parliament enshrines abortion rights in the Constitution
Inspired by 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 in court rulings in the USA in June 2022, Poland, and Hungary, the French decided to protect 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐢𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐰 that decriminalized abortion in France in 1975. On March 4, during a voting session in Versailles, 780 out of 902 parliamentarians voted in favor of the bill 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝟑𝟒 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 72 voted against it, and 50 abstained. This measure was promised by President Emmanuel Macron, who has championed women's rights.
𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, abortion is threatened, highly restricted, or banned. Women resort 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, which present 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠, as they often lead to unsafe procedures performed in unsanitary conditions by untrained providers. With the inclusion of abortion rights in the constitution, France joins a growing number of countries that have recognized 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.
This decision sends 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 in the ongoing struggle for equality and autonomy for women around the world.