Abortion to become a basic right
The right to abortion is to be enshrined in the French constitution. Following last week's vote, the amendment easily secured the necessary three-fifths majority in both chambers of parliament on Monday, with 780 votes to 72. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal described the outcome as the successful conclusion of a long battle. The vast majority of French people are in favour of a liberal abortion law, which the Catholic Church opposes.
A guarantee against suffering
Eldiario.es welcomes the constitutional amendment:
“The emotional speech by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was interrupted by and ended with long ovations in the plenary chamber. A speech that was unsparing and unusually clear in recalling the suffering that illegal abortion has caused to the lives and bodies of the women in the country. ... In times of democratic regression, women's rights are the first to be undermined. ... And according to Attal this is precisely what is happening in countries like the US. ... Or Poland and Hungary. ... We must not let down our guard when it comes to women's rights. The constitutional reform is a guarantee that we won't regress to the past or forget the tears and blood that the absence of this right inflicted on women.”
Don't ban it but make it unnecessary
The Catholic newspaper La Croix hopes that a rise in the abortion rates can nevertheless be avoided:
“The question remains as to why, in 2024, the number of abortions continues to rise so dramatically. Shouldn't we be focusing more on the lack of educative measures about sexual responsibility - including for men? Abortion should not be banned, but everything should be done to ensure that recourse to it decreases.”
This can only be the start
Women still have a long way to go on the path to self-determination, writes Libération:
“Over the last 15 years, 130 abortion centres have been closed in our country. ... It's not normal to have to move from one department to another to have an abortion within the legal time limit, and enshrining this right in the constitution will do nothing to change that. ... The left also emphasises that the double conscience clause for doctors remains a concrete obstacle. ... The anchoring of this right in the constitution will remain an important day in the history of our republic and on the (long) road to the full recognition of women's right to self-determination over their bodies, but we must remain vigilant and demanding.”