French parliamentarians have okayed the bill to make abortion a constitutional right for women in the country.
According to reports, the bill was approved in a resounding 780-72 vote on Monday 4th March 2024, and almost the entire joint session stood in a long-standing ovation.
Joyful scenes of celebrations were witnessed all over France as women’s rights activists lauded the measure pledged by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback of abortion rights in court rulings in the United States.
It was gathered that both houses of parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, have already assented to the bill to amend Article 34 of the French Constitution to specify a woman’s right to an abortion is guaranteed.
Against the backdrop of the historic vote, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed the 925 lawmakers gathered for the joint session in Versailles and urged them to make France a leader in women’s rights and set an example in defense of women’s rights for countries around the globe.
While paying tribute to Simone Veil, a prominent legislator, former health minister and key feminist who in 1975 championed the bill that decriminalized abortion in France, Attal said that France has a moral debt to women.
“We have a chance to change history. Make Simone Veil proud,” he said to a standing ovation.
Earlier in January, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, overwhelmingly approved the proposal.
Meanwhile, the Senate adopted the bill on Wednesday, clearing a key hurdle for legislation promised by Macron’s government, intended to make “a woman’s right to have an abortion irreversible.”
Meantime, the measure must be approved by a three-fifths majority in the joint session.
Though some lawmakers have voted against inscribing abortion right into the constitution in previous votes in both houses, None of France’s major political parties represented in parliament have questioned the right to abortion, including Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party and the conservative Republicans.
Noting that “there is no need to make this a historic day”, Le Pen, who won a record number of seats in the National Assembly two years ago, said on Monday that her party will vote in favor of the bill.
