The French Senate is set to vote on a bill to inscribe abortion - which has been legal in France since 1974 - into the country's Constitution. However, despite getting overwhelming support in the lower house National Assembly last month, some in the conservative-controlled Senate have voiced opposition to the bill.



Paris

France is preparing for a significant legislative process regarding abortion rights. The French Senate will cast their votes on a bill aimed at embedding abortion rights within the nation's Constitution. Abortion has been a legal medical procedure in France since 1974, but this bill seeks to provide it with the highest level of legal protection by making it a constitutional right.

Despite the bill receiving strong support in the lower house, the National Assembly, it faces opposition in the Senate, which is under conservative control. This opposition raises questions about the bill's potential passage, underscoring the ongoing debate about abortion rights within the country. The Senate's decision will be a pivotal moment in the legislative process and could have far-reaching implications for the legal status of abortion in France.



France to vote on making abortion a constitutional right

With 493 votes to 30, the French National Assembly last month overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution. As the bill moves to the Senate's upper house for debate, some in the conservative-controlled Senate may try to put the brakes on the reform. Dominated by the right and centre, the upper house would have to validate the text verbatim and the Senate majority remains sceptical about the wording chosen, which refers to abortion as a guaranteed freedom. Senator Philippe Baer believes this could lead to terminations after the legal time limit, currently at 14 weeks, and the Senate president feels the move is unnecessary. Abortion is not under threat in our country. If it were under threat, believe me, I would fight to maintain it. But I think that the constitution is not a catalogue of social and societal rights. The move came after the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the right to abortion for Americans, but the road to a constitutional amendment is arduous and doesn't guarantee it to pass into law. If passed in the Senate, it would also require a three-fifths majority vote in the French Congress meeting in Versailles, a body composed of both chambers of parliament. According to French pollsters IFOP, 86% of French people support this constitutional revision and if it eventually passes, France would become the first country in the world to make abortion a constitutional right.

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Council of the City of Sydney

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Israel-Gaza War

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