After several attempts by courageous Frenchwomen of trying to legalize abortion in their country, amendments trying to emphasize women’s rights were passed by French legislators on Monday in a special gathering of lawmakers at the Palace of Versailles, southwest of Paris, making France the first country in the world to do such a measure.
According to The New York Times, the amendments garnered 758-70 votes which was successfully enshrined by the politicians. It is reported that the amendments entail being overseen by the parliament government. By the amendments, every woman rules their own body therefore it was considered a “guaranteed freedom” for them.
In addition, the amendments conditioned that no future governments will be able to drastically modify the law. The amendments currently fund every woman who wants to get an abortion, approximately 14 weeks into their pregnancy.
Well, it was not the first time the amendments have surfaced. There have been 20 previous strive to modify the constitution since it was adopted in 1958. The last amendments were made by lawmakers in 2008.
It was mentioned that the amendments can be traced back to the U.S. Supreme Court trying to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Although this was not the only driver of the amendments, as it already has widespread and immense support to begin with as well as several campaigns schemed by feminist activists and lawmakers from different parties.
To reinforce the votes, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with the words “my body my choice.” According to the prime minister, before the votes, lawmakers had a “moral debt” to women who were forced to endure illegal abortions in the past.
The government ensure that there will be an International Women’s Rights Day to commemmorate the passage of the amendments.
