Personal view

BMJ Sex Reprod Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjsrh-2024-202316 on 25 March 2024. Downloaded from http://jfprhc.bmj.com/ on April 14, 2024 by guest. Protected by copyright.
French Parliament ratifies the
inclusion in the French Constitution
of “guaranteed freedom” for
abortion: but does this really
prevent future restrictions?
Philippe Faucher ‍ ‍

Family Planning, Hopitaux The two French Parliamentary chambers So this wording leaves open the possi-
Universitaires Est Parisien, Paris,
met on 4 March 2024 in the Congress bility that laws could be passed in the
France
of Versailles and voted in favour of the future that might place restrictions on
Correspondence to constitutional bill to include abortion as abortion. For example, it does not prevent
Dr Philippe Faucher, Service a fundamental right in law. Deputies and laws from being passed that could reduce
de Gynécologie Obstétrique, the maximum time limit, reintroduce
senators overwhelmingly approved the
Hopitaux Universitaires Est
Parisien, Paris, France; ​philippe.​ constitutional revision with 780 votes ‘for’ a reflection period, or require parental
faucher@​aphp.​fr of 852 votes cast (72 ‘against’). This evolu- authorisation for young girls, and so
tion of the French Constitution completes onBox 1. Thus, there is concern about
Received 14 March 2024 the real extent of the constitutional ‘guar-
Accepted 18 March 2024 a process initiated in reaction to the deci-
sion of the Supreme Court of the United antee’ promised by the bill. What is it, if
States (US) in 2022 to repeal the ‘Roe vs the freedom to abort can always be condi-
Wade’ ruling, which had protected access tioned and restricted by law?
to abortion in the US at the federal level. It is regrettable that the wording
The inclusion of abortion in the French removed the notion of ‘right’ and now
Constitution is considered a means of refers to ‘conditions’, which implies
protecting this fundamental right. the idea of a debt vis-à-vis the State,
which could effectively impede access to
Although this has been widely
abortion.
applauded, the wording used in the new
It is also regrettable that the wording
Constitution leaves some room for concern
chosen was only ‘woman’ without any
that abortion may not be as protected as
reference to transgender people.
one would assume. Back in November
Three principles are under debate,
2022, the members of French Parliament
explained the Minister of Justice: “The
(deputies) approved a bill which aimed
freedom of women to have an abortion,
for the law to guarantee “the effectiveness the freedom of conscience for doctors
and equal access to the right to abortion”, and midwives and finally the principle
but the members of the higher parlia- of safeguarding the dignity of the human
mentary chamber (senators) rejected this person”.
in February 2023 and replaced the word The principle of safeguarding the
‘right’ for the word ‘freedom’. Essentially dignity of the human person was expressly
this expression “guaranteed freedom” enshrined as a principle with constitutional
was proposed by the Minister of Justice value by the Constitutional Council in its
© Author(s) (or their and approved by the deputies then by the decision of 27 July 1994. Several senators
employer(s)) 2024. No senators. The wording proposed by the and deputies expressed concern during
commercial re-­use. See rights Government, which is now inserted in the debates about the possible questioning
and permissions. Published by
BMJ.
the Constitution inside Article 34, can be of conscientious objection if abortion is
translated as follows: “The law determines included in the Constitution. The Minister
To cite: Faucher P. BMJ Sex the conditions in which the freedom guar-
Reprod Health Published
of Justice appeased these concerns by
Online First: [please include anteed to the woman to have recourse to indicating that freedom of conscience was
Day Month Year]. doi:10.1136/ a voluntary termination of pregnancy is recognised “expressly by the Constitu-
bmjsrh-2024-202316 exercised”. tional Council as a fundamental principle

Faucher P. BMJ Sex Reprod Health 2024;0:1–2. doi:10.1136/bmjsrh-2024-202316     1

BMJ Sex Reprod Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjsrh-2024-202316 on 25 March 2024. Downloaded from http://jfprhc.bmj.com/ on April 14, 2024 by guest. Protected by copyright.
freedom of abortion in its Constitution. As our Prime
Box 1 Abortion in France: key dates since the Veil
Minister said, we are sending a message to all women:
Law in 1975
“Your body belongs to you and no one has the right
17 January 1975 – The Veil Law authorising voluntary to dispose of it for you”. Through this vote we send a
termination of pregnancy (abortion) is anounced. Its message of hope to women around the world who see
provisions will become final with the passing of the law their rights violated or denied, not only in autocratic
on 31 December 1979. countries but also at our borders with countries like
31 December 1982 – The Roudy Law establishes Poland, Hungary, Italy… Several deputies indicated
reimbursement of abortion by Social Security. that the fight should not stop there and have tabled
27 January 1993 – The Neiertz Law creates the offence another date for a proposal for an European resolu-
of obstructing abortion and decriminalises ‘self-­abortion’. tion aimed at guaranteeing the right to abortion in
4 July 2001 – The Aubry-­Guigou Law extends the legal the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
period of pregnancy from 12 to 14 weeks and relaxes the Union. The deputies who were signatories of this
conditions of access to contraceptives and abortion for resolution ask the French Government to mobilise
minors. diplomatically with other Member States of the Union
17 December 2012 – Abortion is 100% covered by and the European Commission so that the Charter of
health insurance. Fundamental Rights of the European Union might also
4 August 2014 – Removal of the notion of distress from guarantee the right to abortion.
the conditions for recourse to abortion. On Friday 8 March 2024, during the ceremony
26 January 2016 – Midwives can perform medical sealing in the French Constitution the “guaranteed
abortion; the 7-­day mandatory reflection period is waived. freedom” to have an abortion, President Emmanuel
2 March 2022 – The Gaillot Law extends the legal Macron announced his wish to take the same fight to
deadline for abortion from 14 to 16 weeks of gestation the European stage and said “Today is not the end of a
and authorises midwives to perform surgical abortions in story, it is the beginning of a fight”.
healthcare settings.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this
research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or
not-­for-­profit sectors.
recognised by the laws of the Republic” by a decision
Competing interests None declared.
on 27 June 2001 and therefore had ‘constitutional
value’. It is regrettable therefore that in France there Patient consent for publication Not applicable.
persists a conscientious objection specific to abortion Ethics approval Not applicable.
while this does not exist in some other European legis- Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer
lation (such as Sweden and Norway). reviewed.
Despite the few regrets stated above, I am proud ORCID iD
that France is the first country in the world to include Philippe Faucher http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0258-6175

2 Faucher P. BMJ Sex Reprod Health 2024;0:1–2. doi:10.1136/bmjsrh-2024-202316