PARIS (AP) 鈥� The right to abortion in France hardly seems under threat 鈥� it鈥檚 been inscribed in law for 47 years and enjoys broad support across the political spectrum. But more and more French women are asking: Could happen here one day?
The decision by to strip women of the right to abortion has reverberated across Europe's political landscape, forcing the issue back into public debate in France at a time of political upheaval.
With positions in French politics, lawmakers in both houses of parliament have proposed four bills to enshrine the right to abortion in the French Constitution in order to defend it from future threats.
The most notable initiative comes from centrist alliance. His detractors on the left say Macron's party is being opportunist, while far-right critics accuse it of using the issue to distract from more pressing matters.
Abortion in France was decriminalized under a 1975 law named for Simone Veil, a prominent legislator, former health minister and key feminist who championed it.
鈥淭his right was fought for and was inalienable,鈥� said Ya毛l Braun-Pivet, the first woman elected speaker of the National Assembly, France鈥檚 most powerful house of parliament. In her first address to the chamber last week, Braun-Pivet made the inscription of abortion rights into the French Constitution a top priority.
鈥淚t is my conviction as a woman today that we need to be the watchdog so that it stays in place forever,鈥� Braun-Pivet said.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also expressed concerns over the potential effects of the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 decision on recent efforts to recriminalize abortion in Europe. Borne, only the second woman in French history to have been appointed prime minister, called the reversal of abortion rights in the U.S. a 鈥渉istorical turn in the wrong direction.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a stark warning that women鈥檚 rights should never be taken for granted,鈥� Borne said last week after meeting health care providers and reproductive health specialists in Paris. She called for inscribing these rights into the French Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The adopted a resolution Thursday condemning the U.S. decision and urging the addition of a sentence reading 鈥淓veryone has a right to safe and legal abortion鈥� to the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Abortion is legal and practiced without much political opposition in most EU nations, but is banned in Malta and sharply restricted in Poland.
In France, a poll this week found a solid majority of respondents support the right to abortion, even including most voters who support Marine Le Pen鈥檚 far-right National Rally party and the conservative Republicans. The results were consistent with past surveys.
However the effort to inscribe abortion rights in the French Constitution may not succeed if Macron's political rivals decide they don't want to give him an easy win.
Macron's party lost its majority in the National Assembly in last month's election, while the leftist Nupes coalition became the biggest opposition force and Le Pen鈥檚 National Rally won a record number of seats.
鈥淭he right to abortion is not questioned by anyone,鈥� Le Pen said on France-Info radio last week. Still, she blasted efforts to cement abortion rights in the constitution, accusing Macron's allies of 鈥減olitical diversion.鈥�
鈥淭hey want to shift the focus from the main concerns for French people, which are purchasing power, security and out-of-control immigration,鈥� Le Pen said.
On the far left, lawmakers noted that Macron's party dismissed earlier efforts to enshrine abortion in the constitution. Mathilde Panot, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed parliamentary group, is now pushing Borne to propose a government bill on the issue instead of a bill that originated in parliament, which would speed up the process.
Last year, French lawmakers passed a law extending the abortion deadline from 12 to 14 weeks and allowing midwives to perform the procedure.
Feminist activists marched last weekend in Paris to show solidarity with American women and support French efforts to seek constitutional guarantees.
鈥淧eople think that women will always have this right but considering the rise of conservative political and religious movements, we have our doubts,鈥� said Violaine De Filippis, a Parisian lawyer and feminist activist who joined the march.
Some experts say Macron鈥檚 lawmakers are being alarmist.
Anne Levade, a public law professor at La Sorbonne University, said in a blog post that 鈥渃learly, there is no risk in France that abortion rights would ever be challenged, like they were in the U.S.鈥�
But Mathilde Philip-Gay, a law professor and specialist in French and American constitutional law, said France's Constitutional Court could also be influenced by politics if groups craft a long-term strategy to end the right to abortion.
鈥淚t is not on the agenda right now, but in 10 or 12 years, French judges could do the same thing that judges of the Supreme Court did,鈥� Philip-Gay said.
An inscription into France's constitution 鈥渃ould make it harder for abortion opponents to challenge these rights, but it couldn鈥檛 prevent them from doing it in the long run."
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Surk reported from Nice, France.
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For AP鈥檚 full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to
Barbara Surk And Jade Le Deley, The Associated Press
