FRANCE VOTES ON ABORTION LAW

The Palace of Versailles was the scene for a historic joint session of the French parliament on Monday.

Following the vote, France became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution.

For the vote to pass, the approval needed a three-fifths majority. That number was cleared when both houses of the French Parliament voted 780 to 72 in favour of the law.

Both the French Senate and the National Assembly approved the amendment earlier this year.

The move was hailed as history-making by lawmakers and highlighted the spotlight once again on the country’s support of reproductive rights.

The amendment gives citizens of France the “guaranteed freedom” to abortion, although some lawmakers have requested for stronger language to explicitly call abortion “a right”.

Following the decisions, the words “my body my choice” were lit up on the Eiffel Tower.

NPR reports that the government of French President Emmanuel Macron started pushing for the move in 2022 when the country looked on with alarm as the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and states began to chip away at abortion rights.

Image credit: Sky News