GUWAHATI: France might become the first country in the world to include abortion in its constitutional rights, reports stated.
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On Monday, French lawmakers are anticipated to officially include the right to abortion in the country's constitution, marking a historic global first.
The joint congress of the National Assembly and the Senate in Versailles, commencing at 3:30 PM (1430 GMT), is poised to secure the necessary three-fifths majority for this constitutional amendment, overcoming initial resistance from the right-leaning Senate.
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If this move is endorsed, France will stand alone as the only nation explicitly safeguarding the right to terminate a pregnancy in its foundational law.
President Emmanuel Macron, having made a commitment last year, seeks to enshrine abortion, legal in France since 1975, in the constitution. This initiative was prompted by the 2022 US Supreme Court decision that overturned a longstanding right to the procedure, granting states the authority to restrict or prohibit it, media reports stated.
In January, France's National Assembly overwhelmingly backed the constitutional recognition of abortion as a "guaranteed freedom," followed by the Senate's approval last Wednesday. The final step awaits the combined vote of both chambers during a rare joint session at the historic Palace of Versailles, where few obstacles are expected, given the significant support demonstrated in prior ballots.
Reflecting on the beginnings of political advocacy in 1971, Claudine Monteil, the leader of the Femmes Monde (Women in the World) association, remarked that envisioning the right to abortion being enshrined in the constitution seemed unimaginable at the time. Monteil, the youngest signatory of the 1971 "Manifesto of the 343," a petition admitting to illegal terminations signed by 343 women, emphasized the transformative journey since then. Up to 800,000 compatriots joined these women each year in seeking abortion, marking a significant societal shift now poised for constitutional recognition.
