The impact of the inscription of the "guaranteed freedom" to have an abortion in the French Constitution may transcend borders and "give a boost to the recognition of this fundamental right" in the world, experts and activists argue.
President Emmanuel Macron described the move as "French pride" that had sent a "universal message” in favour of abortion rights on the social network X after lawmakers adopted the constitutional reform during an extraordinary Congress of both chambers at the Palace of Versailles, west of Paris, on Monday.
"France has an international voice, in international bodies and at the United Nations," Amandine Clavaud, co-director of studies at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, a Paris-based think tank, and author of the essay 'Women's rights, the great setback,' told AFP.
By becoming the first country to explicitly inscribe in its Constitution the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, half a century after having legalised it, France "sends a signal" to "French society and a message of hope for the situation of women at the international level," she added.
France wants to "open the door to other countries to constitutionalise this right in order to protect it," said Éleonore Caroit, a deputy from the ruling majority, before the historic vote.
For the executive director of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF), Neil Datta, the measure is a "very strong symbol" and "can give some impetus to improve legislation on abortion.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), welcomed France's decision, which he said guarantees "women's rights" and "saves their lives.”
'Example'
The United States Supreme Court decided in June 2022 to stop recognising abortion rights at the federal level, reversing the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling.
Since then, many states in the US have sharply restricted the standards for performing terminations of pregnancy, and others have entirely banned it in practice, a fact that has had an impact on public opinion around the world.
"When we saw abortion rights collapse in the United States, we were shocked, defeated," said Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women's Foundation.
By moving in the opposite direction, France "could serve as an example for progressives in all the countries of Europe, to define a course, even if the goal of constitutionalisation is not achieved," said Datta.
"They can proceed to certain liberalisations, to improve their legislations,” he added.
To support this perspective, he cites a precedent: the legalisation by Ireland, a Catholic country, of equal marriage in 2015 and of abortion in 2018.
"That gave a breath of fresh air to all progressive movements in the world," he said.
The fact that "France moves to such a high level of protection is very, very important,” because of some "actors with a political agenda" and religions that "take over the issues" of sexuality and reproduction.
The appropriation "of these issues by conservative figures" is "part of a process" of diminishing democracy. Anchoring this right in the Constitution "takes away this instrument,” he added, citing Poland, Hungary, the United States or even Argentina, where this right is under threat.
Some 41 percent of women of reproductive age live in countries where abortion legislation is restrictive, or nearly 700 million women, according to a report by the French Senate.
'In tribute to the women of Argentina'
Datta stated that she is confident that "the progressives will win" and pointed out that, in Poland, the previous conservative government restricted the right to abortion, forcing many women to travel abroad.
Something similar happened in the United States at the regional level, which leads to "feeling disgust for a large part of the political class.”
However, she added that some "fifteen European countries and territories, such as the Channel Islands or Gibraltar, improved their legal protection" for abortion.
Last year, Germany abolished an amendment dating back to the Third Reich that prohibited any advertising of abortion, Datta added.
Dressed in green and with a handkerchief of the same colour on her forearm "in homage to the Argentine women” who successfully passed a law legalising abortion a few years ago, leftist deputy Mathilde Panot dedicated this "victory" to all those who "fight to decide about their bodies" in the world.
Raquel Garrido, a French leftist deputy born in Chile, affirmed that the French decision "is going to have repercussions all over the world.”
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by Joëlle Garrus, AFP
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