Will Abortion Become a Constitutional Right in France?

French lawmakers are meeting today, Monday, for a final vote on including the right to abortion in the constitution, a move welcomed by women's rights groups and criticized by anti-abortion groups. This step, which enjoys broad political support, is widely expected to achieve the majority needed in a special vote in parliament with both chambers, requiring three-fifths of the members, this afternoon. Women in France have had the legal right to abortion since the 1974 law, which many criticized strongly at the time. Today’s vote is expected to lead to an amendment to Article 34 of the French Constitution, stating that "the law determines the conditions under which a woman has the freedom to resort to abortion." The right to abortion is more widely accepted in France compared to the United States and many other countries. Polls indicate that about 80% of the French public supports the legality of abortion. The 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the ruling that recognized a woman's constitutional right to abortion in the case of Roe v. Wade has prompted activists to urge France to become the first country to explicitly protect this right in its fundamental law.