Abortion is going to be a constitutional right in France

On Wednesday, Feb. 28, the Senate passed the bill enshrining the right to voluntary interruption of pregnancy (IVG in French) in the Constitution by 267 votes to 50, BFMTV reported. Adopted in the same terms as the Assembly, the text was not changed from the government’s initial wording. The text won support from the entire left and parts of the right and center benches.

Several LR leaders had publicly opposed this constitutional text. Gérard Larcher expressed his disagreement, arguing that the Constitution should not be seen as “a catalog of social rights.” Bruno Retailleau, president of the LR group, supported several amendments aimed at changing the text adopted by the Assembly. Hervé Marseille, who is close to the ideas of anti-abortion associations, never thought of siding with the draft.

New meeting in Versailles is next week

The executive now intends to convene parliamentarians from both chambers at an assembly to be held next week in Versailles. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 4. The elected representatives will have to vote again on the text, which will require the approval of three-fifths of the members to be incorporated into the basic law. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this meeting should result in the final adoption of the draft.

The bill was adopted by a majority in the Assembly in January, with 493 votes in favor and 30 against. Much of the right and the Rassemblement National voted in favor, as did the president of the Républicains, Eric Ciotti. On X, Emmanuel Macron reacted to the Upper House vote, welcoming the result. “I had pledged to make women’s freedom to have an abortion irreversible by including it in the Constitution. After the National Assembly, the Senate also took a decisive step, which I welcome. For the final vote, I will convene the House in Congress on March 4.

It will be interesting to see the effect of the rule on French demographics. Someday, someone will also approve some pro-life regulations, but it will take a long time. Living is much more complex than dying.