France introduced the right to abortion in its constitution this Monday. The vote, held at the Palace of Versailles, went ahead by 780 votes in favor compared to 72 against and makes the country the first nation to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution with 80% approval of the French and who celebrated by lighting up the Eiffel Tower with a message that said "my body, my choice":
IVG dans la Constitution: le message #MonCorpsMonChoix affiché sur la Tour Eiffel pic.twitter.com/C5SDPhouRA
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 4, 2024
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, the amendment becomes the 25th revision of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic. The constitution that Charles de Gaulle devised between 1958 and 1960 can be modified through a referendum or through the meeting of the two chambers of France's legislature, the National Assembly and the Senate, which meet in a single assembly, the French Congress.
The vote, however, did not take place as soon as the Congress met. It began with a debate opened by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal stating the following:
We begin a fundamental stage that will be a historical page. A stage that has a history and background, started by Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Simone Veil. France sends a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one has the right to decide for you. Beyond our borders, a new era of hope begins.
France takes stand against the annulment Roe v. Wade
The decision also represents a direct response to the decision made by the United States Supreme Court when it struck down Roe v. Wade. Since, on this occasion, France is on the opposite side, as recalled by the French Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti.
He assured, in statements obtained by CNN, that history is full of examples in which "fundamental rights" were believed to be protected but instead were then taken away, such "as the United States Supreme Court decision." According to him, this demonstrated that there is no invulnerable democracy: "We now have irrefutable proof that no democracy, not even the largest of all, is immune," declared Dupond-Moretti.
Although all parties were clearly in favor of the vote going ahead, a total of 78 congressmen voted against it. This position was also adopted by the Vatican, which deeply regretted that the referendum went ahead. An example of this was the Pontifical Academy Life, the Vatican body that deals with issues related to bioethics. They stated that "there can be no 'right' to take human life":
The Pontifical Academy for Life reminds us that in this era of universal human rights, there can be no "right" to take human life.
L'Académie Pontificale pour la Vie rappelle que précisément à l'ère des droits humains universels, il ne peut y avoir de "droit" à supprimer une vie humaine. @Eglisecatho @LaCroix @AgenceIMEDIA #France #IVG #IVGconstitution pic.twitter.com/fOgaUt0Ffx
— Pontifical Academy Life (@PontAcadLife) March 4, 2024
