MAKING HISTORY

France’s National Assembly Votes to Enshrine Abortion Rights in Constitution

The 337 to 32 vote in the legislature’s lower chamber, similar to the US House of Representatives, kicks off a lengthy legislative process that comes as a response to Roe ruling.

France took the first step toward enshrining abortion rights in the nation’s constitution on Thursday with an overwhelming vote in the National Assembly. The 337 to 32 vote in the legislature’s lower chamber, similar to the US House of Representatives, kicks off a lengthy legislative process that comes in response to the rollback of abortion rights in the United States, according to Le Monde. It is unclear whether the measure would pass the Senate. If the resolution gets another majority there, it would go to the people for a national referendum vote.

Following the 2022 legislative elections, France’s political landscape has been in uncharted territory with President Emmanuel Macron being the first incumbent president not to have an absolute majority in parliament. Recent polling shows around 80 percent of the French population supports the right to an abortion, according to Le Monde. The Senate rejected a similar resolution in September, with the chamber under control of the conservative party, Les Républicans. Abortion has been legal in France since 1975, but it was decriminalized and not explicitly protected as a right under the constitution.