This Wednesday, March 8, on International Women’s Rights Day, Emmanuel Macron declared that a bill will soon be presented to include voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) in the Constitution.
- On International Women’s Rights Day, Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Gisèle Halimi, lawyer and feminist activist, who died in 2020.
- The President of the Republic also announced the presentation of a bill “in the coming months” to include voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) in the Constitution.
- Many feminist associations welcomed the Head of State’s announcement.
During the national tribute to Gisèle Halimi, lawyer and feminist fighter for the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) in France, Emmanuel Macron announced the presentation of a bill “in the coming months” to enshrine the right to abortion in the Constitution.
“Engrave the freedom of women to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy” in the Constitution
“I want today that the strength of the message [de Gisèle Halimi] help us to change our Constitution in order to engrave the freedom of women to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy, to solemnly assure that nothing can hinder or undo what will thus be irreversible”assured the President of the Republic in his speech delivered on Wednesday, March 8 on International Women’s Rights Day.
The Head of State also said that “the advances resulting from parliamentary debates, on the initiative of the National Assembly then enlightened by the Senate, will allow, I hope, to include in our fundamental text this freedom within the framework of the bill revising our Constitution which will be prepared in the coming months.”
Right to abortion: a strong signal for feminist associations
Many feminist associations reacted to Emmanuel Macron’s announcement. Planned Parenthood rejoiced in a tweet “of a victory for feminist associations in France” adding that “feminists around the world are watching France.”
For the Women’s Foundation, this is a “victory for feminist associations which have been asking for the constitutionalization of abortion for years”, as well as a “a strong signal for all women in the world”, which “shows that we support the fight of activists everywhere in the world.”
In a tweet, Alyssa Ahrabare, spokesperson for Dare Feminism, praised a “feminist victory that consecrates a capital human right for women”, Who “is the fruit of collective feminist mobilizations for months, years, generations!”
However, not all activists share the same opinion. For Violaine Lucas, president of the association Choosing the cause of women, co-founded by Gisèle Halimi in 1971, it is a “political instrumentalization” which takes place during the demonstrations against the pension reform.
