French President Emmanuel Macron promises to amend constitution to make abortion rights ‘irreversible’
Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday (Oct 29) said that he plans to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution by next year and make them "irreversible."
Taking to microblogging site X, Macron said a draft project is being readied and it would be submitted to the State Council, France's highest administrative court, next week.
"In 2024, the right of women to chooseabortionwill become irreversible," Macron said.
Welcoming the development, the minister for gender equality, Bérangère Couillard, said on X: “This is a victory for all women and a strong symbol sent to other countries of the world where our rights are losing ground.”
The declaration follows a promise made by Macron on March 8 (International Women's Day) in the wake of the US federal court overturning women’s abortion rights last year.
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In France, the constitution can be amended either by a referendum or approval by at least three-fifths of the members of both chambers of parliament united in a congress.
Post the Second World War, most of the changes to the constitution have been made through the congressional vote, notes AFP news agency.
According to Macron's office, Article 34 of the constitution would be amended to include that "the law determines the conditions by which is exercised the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed."
Abortion laws in France
France decriminalised abortion in 1975 after passing a law in this regard. However, no changes were made in the constitution that could have guaranteed fundamental rights to pregnancy termination.
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Since then, successive laws have been brought in order to improve the conditions for abortion, especially by protecting women's health and anonymity, and by reducing the financial burden of the procedure on women.
According to government figures, 234,000 abortions were performed in France last year, reports DW news agency.
A November 2022 opinion poll found that 89 per cent of respondents were in favour of making abortion rights constitutional.
(With inputs from agencies)
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