The inclusion of abortion in the Constitution is becoming clearer. The draft constitutional law providing for this progress, a commitment made by President Emmanuel Macron, arrives this Tuesday in committee at the National Assembly. The Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, will be heard at 16:30 p.m. before the Law Commission, before a general discussion on the same day and an examination by the same committee on Wednesday.
The text provides for the inclusion in article 34 of the Constitution that "the law shall determine the conditions under which the freedom guaranteed to a woman to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy is exercised". In the government's view, the wording "guaranteed freedom" is a balance between the notion of "right to abortion" and that of "freedom". For their part, feminist associations see it as a compromise to allow abortion to be enshrined in the Constitution.
Battle over the formulas used
A proposal for a constitutional law by La France insoumise aimed at introducing into the Constitution "effectiveness and equal access to the right to abortion" had received in November 2022 a very large majority in the Assembly. But the text was adopted in February 2023 by a narrow majority in the Senate, where the formula "the freedom of the woman to terminate her pregnancy" had replaced the notion of "right".
In March, President Emmanuel Macron decided to present a constitutional bill, which, unlike the previous text, does not require a referendum. In its opinion on this text published on 12 December, the Council of State nevertheless considered that "the consecration of a right to have recourse to voluntary termination of pregnancy would not have a different scope from the proclamation of a freedom".
The text is expected in the Senate on February 26
"Guaranteeing freedom is stronger than just recognizing it," the government was told in December. "Should it be a right or a freedom? In truth, I think what is needed is for us to guarantee that it can be adopted in the Assembly, in the Senate," said Aurore Bergé, the minister in charge of gender equality, on Sunday.
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While the bill is expected to pass the Assembly stage without difficulty, where it will be examined in session on 24 January, it will still have to be convinced by the Senate, dominated by Les Républicains, where it is expected on 26 February. A tight timetable for adoption by parliamentarians in Congress, which the government wants to convene on 5 March. That's just days before International Women's Day on March 8.