Compared to many other Western countries, France has always been more supportive of abortion rights.
As such, French lawmakers, determined to ensure no setbacks, has approved a bill that enshrines women’s right to abortion in the French Constitution.
French women already had the right and access to abortion.
The voluntary ending of pregnancy became legal in France in 1975 with a law named after Simone Veil, the Health Minister who supported it.
The law allowed abortion up to the tenth week of pregnancy. Later, it was extended to the twelfth week in 2001 and then to the fourteenth week in 2022.
Since the 1980s, the procedure has been covered by France’s national healthcare system.
By enshrining abortion rights in the French Constitution, lawmakers are not merely safeguarding a right but painting a canvas that extends beyond national borders.
Creating a domino effect, this landmark decision could act as a catalyst for neighboring countries to reassess and reinforce their commitment to women’s reproductive autonomy and can set off a trend to enforce abortion in other European countries.
Already, a 2023 survey across 24 European Union member states revealed that approximately 71% of adults support legal abortion in most or all cases, while around 27% oppose it.
Although access conditions vary widely across countries, there has been a trend towards liberalizing abortion laws in Europe.
The legal limit until what point in the pregnancy someone can have an abortion also varies: 24 weeks in the Netherlands, 18 weeks in Sweden, 14 weeks in France and Luxembourg, and 12 weeks in Ireland and Denmark.
In several EU member states, right-wing populist movements have implemented policies aiming to curtail or complicate access to abortion.
Malta prohibits abortion except in cases threatening the mother’s or the fetus’s life.
Similarly in Poland, a 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal outlawed abortions due to fetal defects, effectively imposing a ban from early 2021, except in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the mother’s life.
In Hungary, although abortion has been legal up to 12 weeks since 1953, rules were tightened in 2022. Women seeking abortions are required to listen to the fetal heartbeat beforehand, and counseling is compulsory.
Potential Ramifications
While France’s decision has been hailed as a triumph for reproductive autonomy, it also sparks potential disadvantages and societal ramifications that demand careful scrutiny.
One of such is the possibility to fracture societal consensus.
France’s embrace of constitutionalized abortion rights risks deepening the existing societal fault lines on the moral spectrum. The move has the potential to widen the divide between those who champion reproductive freedom and those who hold steadfast to their moral and religious convictions.
As a nation with diverse values, there is apparent risk of cultural fragmentation.
While constitutionalizing abortion may seem like a progressive safeguard, it raises concerns about the potential inflexibility of the legal framework.
Societal attitudes and medical advancements evolve, and a constitutionally entrenched stance may impede lawmakers from adapting legislation to reflect these changes effectively.
France’s move may inadvertently strain diplomatic ties with countries that hold contrasting views on abortion.
As the nation positions itself as a vanguard of reproductive rights, it risks discord with nations where conservative values still shape public policy.
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