French parliament voiced support for bill enshrining right to abortion in constitution
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The leader of Macron's party in parliament on Saturday said she had tabled a bill to "enshrine the respect for abortion in our constitution" amid the rise of the far-right National Rally, a party she described as "fierce opponents" of abortion. "Women's rights are always fragile rights that are regularly threatened," Aurore Berge told the France Inter radio station.
Amid the United States supreme court judgement banning the right to abortion, politicians representing a parliamentary majority on Saturday voiced support for a bill enshrining abortion rights in France's constitution, as reported by AFP.
The landmark ruling by the conservative-majority court on Friday overturned almost five decades of constitutional protections for abortion in the United States, allowing individual states to regulate the procedure.
The American religious right had never accepted the previous 1973 "Roe v. Wade" ruling that guaranteed US abortion rights and several conservative states immediately announced they would ban abortion. France was one of several US allies to condemn the decision, with President Emmanuel Macron denouncing a threat to women's freedom.
The leader of Macron's party in parliament on Saturday said she had tabled a bill to "enshrine the respect for abortion in our constitution" amid the rise of the far-right National Rally, a party she described as "fierce opponents" of abortion. "Women's rights are always fragile rights that are regularly threatened," Aurore Berge told the France Inter radio station.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the government would support the bill "wholeheartedly", echoing the support expressed by other ministers. "For all women, for human rights, we must set this gain in stone. Parliament must be able to unite overwhelmingly over this text," she wrote on Twitter.
Leading politicians from left-wing parties welcomed the government's "U-turn" in a statement and invited like-minded parliamentary groups to submit a joint text.
The left-wing NUPES alliance and Macron's Ensemble coalition would together command a large majority in favour of such a constitutional change. Changing the constitution requires the National Assembly and Senate to adopt the same text, then a three-fifths majority of parliament sitting in congress. The other option is a referendum.
(with inputs from agencies)
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