An abortion-rights bill has been proposed in France
According to a statement made by two members of France’s parliament on Saturday, lawmakers have submitted a plan that would legislate abortion rights into the country’s constitution.
Abortion has been outlawed in the United States (US) after a landmark Supreme Court decision that invalidated nearly five decades of constitutional safeguards for the operation.
The 1973 ‘Roe vs. Wade’ verdict in the United States established a national right to abortion, but conservatives and religious rights had long opposed it. Abortion is already illegal in a large number of US states.
The leader of Macron’s party in parliament stated on Saturday that she had introduced a bill that will “enshrine the respect for abortion in our constitution.”
“Women’s rights are always fragile rights that are regularly threatened,” When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision to withdraw the right to an abortion in the United States, “catastrophic for women around the world,” Aurore Berge told France Inter radio station.
“We must take steps in France today, so we do not have any reversal of existing laws tomorrow,” she added.
Abortion is already enshrined in a 1975 statute governing the voluntary termination of pregnancy in France.
Marie-Pierre Rixain, a member of parliament and a member of Macron’s The Republic on the Move party, argued that a constitutional law would guarantee abortion rights for future generations.
“What happened elsewhere must not happen in France,” she added.
This bill will have the support of the government “wholeheartedly,” according to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
“For all women, for human rights, we must set this gain in stone. Parliament must be able to unite overwhelmingly over this text,” she tweeted.
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Together, the left-wing NUPES alliance and Macron’s Ensemble coalition would have enough votes to amend the constitution.
For decades, the National Rally has been opposed to abortion, but Marine Le Pen, the party’s current leader, has taken a more pro-life stance and supported the status quo.
French President Emmanuel Macron extended his support for the women of the United States following the Supreme Court’s decision to reject a landmark judgment that might lead to abortion bans in half of the country.
Macron said that the decision jeopardized the liberties of women. “Abortion is a fundamental right for all women. It must be protected,” the French president wrote in a tweet late on Friday.
During the past legislative session in France, the legal timeframe for terminating a pregnancy was increased to 14 weeks.
Opposition politicians attempted to change the constitution in 2018 and 2019 to include the right to abortion but were unsuccessful.
