French President Emmanuel Macron announced today his intention to include the “freedom to resort” to abortion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, where, according to him, “nothing can be taken for granted and everything must be protected”, reported France Press .
“We will fight this battle on our continent, where the reactionary forces first and always attack the rights of women, before continuing to attack the rights of minorities, of all the oppressed, as well as all freedoms,” the French president said at a public ceremony in Paris. which marked the inclusion of the voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in the French constitution.
This event today on March 8, International Women’s Rights Day, marked France becoming the first country to enshrine abortion in its constitution.
“Beyond Europe, we will fight for this right to become universal and effective,” Macron said.
The French president wanted a “popular ceremony” to be organized to mark the “culmination of this collective struggle”, days after deputies from both houses of the French parliament approved the constitutional amendment. He also laid flowers at the graves of “great figures” of feminism who contributed to the revision of the constitution, including lawyer Giselle Halimi and political activist Simone Vey.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, proclaimed in December 2000, contains 54 articles that enshrine the individual rights of citizens of the European Union.
It has the same legal force as the founding treaties of the EU and any European citizen can refer to it if a European norm does not respect these rights.
France enshrined the guaranteed right to abortion into its constitution today – on International Women’s Day.
Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti used a 19th-century printing press to seal the amendment to the French constitution in a special ceremony. Applause filled the cobbled Place Vendôme as France became the first country to clearly guarantee the right to abortion in its basic law.
The measure was voted down by French lawmakers earlier this week, and a ceremony today formalized its entry into force.
While abortion is a deeply divisive issue in the US, it is legal in almost all of Europe and is mostly supported in France, where it is seen more as a matter of public health than politics. French lawmakers approved the constitutional amendment on Monday by 780 to 72 votes. Many far-right MPs voted against.
Today’s ceremony in Paris was a key event in a day focused on advancing women’s rights globally. Marches, protests and conferences are taking place from Indonesia to Mexico.
The amendment to the French constitution was welcomed by women’s rights advocates, including from countries where women count for access to birth control or maternity care. French President Emmanuel Macron called the amendment a direct result of the US Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn the right to abortion at the federal level in the country.
Macron’s critics have questioned why he approved such a measure in a country that is not directly threatened by abortion rights, but where women face a range of other problems.
While some French women saw the step as a major victory, others said that in practice not every woman in France has the right to an abortion.
“It’s dust in the eyes,” Arya Meroni, 32, said at an event.
“The government is destroying our health system, many family planning clinics have been closed,” she added at the annual Women’s Night March in Paris on the eve of International Women’s Day.
The country often has large numbers of women killed by their partners, and challenges remain in prosecuting sexual violence against women by powerful celebrities and other men. Women also receive lower wages and pensions, especially those who are not white.
Macron’s government said the abortion amendment was important to avoid a US-like scenario for women in France at a time when far-right parties are gaining ground and trying to curtail freedoms in Europe.
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