The proposal now has to be approved by the Senate and could be put to a nationwide referendum
The lower house of the Parliament in France has voted to include the country’s abortion laws in its constitution. According to a report in Euronews on Thursday, November 24, the National Assembly voted in favour of the resolution, which is the first step in a very long legislative process.
“This terrible regression demonstrates that when it comes to the right of women to dispose of their bodies, nothing is ever certain,” said the proposal for the change in the legislation, the report states.
The assembly took this decision taking in view of the recent US Supreme court ruling to overrule a landmark judgement based on a case from 1973. Known as the Roe v Wade case, it was famous for passing a judgement that legalized abortion in the country.
Although abortion has been legalized in France since 1985, the reports add, there is nothing in that guarantees abortion rights in the constitution.
Talking about the vote, Mathilde Panot, head of the left-wing France Unbowed group said, “I am very moved by both this vote and historic signal that the National Assembly has sent to all the women of our country but also to all the women of the world”.
The proposal now requires approval by the Senate and there could also be a nationwide referendum on this issue after this. According to a recent poll, more than 80% of the French people supports the right to abortion.
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