President Macron vows to enshrine women’s rights to abortion in French Constitution from 2024

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, pledged on Sunday to incorporate the right of women to have an abortion into the French Constitution by next year. He made this announcement on a social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter. He stated that a bill facilitating this would be presented to his cabinet by the end of this year, ensuring that 'in 2024, the freedom of women to have an abortion will be irreversible. ' Abortion was decriminalised in France under a 1975 law, but the constitution does not currently guarantee abortion rights.

The decision to roll back abortion rights in the United States, following the US Supreme Court's overturning of a 50-year-old ruling last year, has spurred France to unconditionally guarantee such rights. Macron, while honouring feminist Gisele Halimi in March, expressed his desire to amend the constitution to 'enshrine the freedom of women to have an abortion, to solemnly ensure that nothing can stop or undo what will be irreversible.

Amending the constitution is a complex process, but the government has devised a method to bypass a referendum on the issue. By presenting its own bill, rather than one originating among lawmakers, Macron can convene a special 'Congress' of both houses that must adopt the amendment by a three-fifths majority. Such congresses convene at the Palace of Versailles. The bill has been in development for several months. Macron stated that it would be sent to the Council of State, France's highest administrative body, in the coming week. It would then be presented to the Cabinet by the end of the year. Macron's office announced that Article 34 of the constitution would be amended to include that 'the law determines the conditions by which is exercised the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed. ' Berengere Couillard, the minister for equality for women and men, hailed this as 'a victory for all women and a strong symbol sent to other countries of the world where our rights are losing ground.