France has become the first country to explicitly include voluntary termination of pregnancy in its constitution, a move that the Vatican had expressed concerns about. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal stated at the beginning of the discussions in the French Parliament, "We bear a moral debt" to all women who "have suffered in their bodies" from illegal abortions.
780 members of the French Parliament agreed to the inclusion of the phrase "The law sets the conditions under which the freedom guaranteed to women to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy is exercised." Only 72 members voted against the inclusion. The result was met with loud applause in the Palace of Versailles, while French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed this "new freedom guaranteed by the constitution" in a post on the platform "X". Macron described the decision as a "French pride" and a "global message."
Earlier on Monday, the Vatican expressed its opposition to "any right to eliminate human life." Macron had pledged on March 8, 2023, to include abortion in the French constitution in response to concerns raised by the overturning of a ruling that guaranteed American women the right to abortion in all states.
