French Senate approves bill making abortion a constitutional right

France’s Senate has adopted a bill to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the constitution – clearing a key hurdle for legislation promised by President Emmanuel Macron in response to a rollback in abortion rights in the United States.

Protestors hold a banner reading "women decide, abortion is a fundamental right" during a silent gathering outside the Sorbonne University in Paris on 28 February, 2024. AFP - KIRAN RIDLEY

Wednesday’s vote came after the lower house, the National Assembly, overwhelmingly approved the proposal in January.

The measure now goes before a joint session of parliament for its expected approval by a three-fifths majority on Monday.

Following the vote, Macron said the government was committed to making women’s right to have an abortion irreversible.

Je me suis engagé à rendre irréversible la liberté des femmes de recourir à l'IVG en l’inscrivant dans la Constitution.

Après l'Assemblée nationale, le Sénat fait un pas décisif dont je me félicite. Pour le vote final, je convoquerai le Parlement en Congrès le 4 mars.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 28, 2024

The government wants Article 34 of the constitution amended to guarantee the freedom of women to have access to an abortion.

The Senate adopted the bill on a vote of 267 in favor and 50 against, with 22 abstentions.

According to figures published by the Senate, most party groups voted as a bloc, but the right-wing Republicans was split: of the 132 senators, 72 voted in favor and 41 voted against, while six abstained.

“This vote is historic,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said, adding the Senate had "written a new page in women's rights".

• French parliament approves bill adding abortion rights to constitution
• 'Eighty percent' of French want abortion rights enshrined in constitution

Formality

None of France’s major political parties represented in parliament has questioned the right to abortion, which was decriminalised in 1975.

With both houses of parliament adopting the bill, Monday's joint session at the Palace of Versailles is expected to be largely a formality.

The government argued in its introduction to the bill that the right to abortion was threatened in the United States, where the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned a 50-year-old ruling that used to guarantee it.

Abortion-rights advocates gather outside a the Kansas Statehouse to protest the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion Friday, June 24, 2022, in Topeka, Kan. © AP - Charlie Riedel

“Unfortunately this event is not isolated. In many countries, even in Europe, there are currents of opinion that seek to hinder at any cost the freedom of women to terminate their pregnancy,” the introduction to the French legislation says.

Last year in Poland, a controversial tightening of the already restrictive abortion law led to protests in the country last year.

The Polish constitutional court ruled in 2020 that women could no longer terminate pregnancies in cases of severe fetal deformities, including Down Syndrome.

(with newswires)