French senators have voted against an attempt to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right.
After a heated debate, the Senate rejected the amendment which stated “no one may infringe the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy and contraception”.
Activists have been pushing for pro-abortion protections to be included in France’s constitution since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade earlier this year. The Government has indicated its support for such a move.
‘Attack on life’
During the debate, Secretary of the Law Commission Agnès Canayer said that “there is no reason to constitutionalise abortion” and branded the move a “reaction to American news”.
Senator Stéphane Ravier described the proposal as an attack on life, “dangerous, useless”, and “a waste of time”.
Welcoming the outcome, the Protestant Evangelical Committee for Human Dignity said: “including abortion in the Constitution would authorise a death penalty for unborn children”.
Further proposals
Two further proposals that would give unprecedented constitutional protection for abortion will be debated in the French Parliament’s lower house next month.
Earlier this year, lawmakers voted to weaken protections for the unborn by extending the legal limit for abortion from 12 to 14 weeks.
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