The overturn of Roe v. Wade had a huge impact on public opinion in France, inspiring fear that abortion rights could be withdrawn at any time. The United States is perceived as a liberal country, similar to France. People were concerned when this occurred in a country like the US, since if it happened there, they feared it could happen in France too. As a result, this awareness prompted people to take action, and nearly one year and a half later, France is on track to enshrine abortion into its constitution. The purpose of these actions is to protect these rights so that if future parliaments were to try and take those rights away it would be extremely difficult to accomplish. While left-wing lawmakers are leading the charge, the bill has generated significant cross-party support. The French government backs it. If they were successful, France would be the first country in the world to grant abortion rights in its constitution. Currently, French law protects abortion rights under a 1975 law. This has been amended numerous times, most recently in 2022, to extend the legal abortion period from 12 to 14 weeks. Parliament could, however, revoke it as it could all laws. However, changing the constitution is much more complicated, requiring either a national referendum or a 3/5th majority in the French Congress. It is therefore argued that constitutionalizing abortion rights would safeguard them even if a pro-life majority were elected.
Weekly Post #7: “‘It was a wake-up call’: After Roe v. Wade, French lawmakers seek to enshrine abortion rights”
Moreover, French organizations fighting for reproductive rights are fearful of further reversals globally. Additionally, the growing concern is prompted by a noticeable pattern in certain countries where the fair right takes power and attacks abortion rights as soon as they do so. In Hungary, the hardline nationalist government made listening to a fetal heartbeat before an abortion mandatory last year. Poland, where abortions are only permitted under certain circumstances, such as rape, incest, or a threat to the mother’s health, passed further restrictions in 2020 when the conservative Law and Justice party outlawed abortions based on fetal defects. Recently, Argentina elected a far-right president who promised to reverse the country’s 2020 abortion rights. Consequently, due to all these factors France is taking steps to prevent future attacks on abortion rights, even though abortion rights aren’t under attack right now.