The French Senate approved this Wednesday (28), with 267 votes in favor and 50 against, the inclusion of “access to abortion” in the country's Constitution.
The National Assembly had already approved the proposal in January. President Emmanuel Macron will convene a joint session of Parliament for next Monday (4) for a final vote on the issue.
If three-fifths of parliamentarians are in favor of the proposal, France will become the first country in the world to guarantee “access to abortion” in its Magna Carta.
Convictions of Gazeta do Povo: Defense of life from conception
The Macron government presented the proposal for Article 34 of the French Constitution to be amended to mention “the freedom of women to resort to abortion, which is guaranteed”.
The French president began pushing for the measure after the United States Supreme Court overturned the case law of Roe vs. Wade, in 1973, and established that American states could re-legislate abortion as they preferred. Abortion in France is legal up to 14 weeks after conception.
This Wednesday, pro-life groups protested in the French Senate. Protesters covered their mouths with red and white fabrics, according to a report by The New York Times.
“We are gagged like the unborn,” said Marie-Lys Pellissier, head of communications for the March for Life.
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