One in three women will have at least one voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in her lifetime. On this World Day, let’s take stock of what you need to know about this fundamental right.
“The right to abortion is a major achievement for women to dispose of their body,” said the Ministry of Health on Friday. On this world day for voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion), many players are mobilizing to ensure that this women’s right, so dearly obtained by Simone Veil in 1975, is practiced under the best possible conditions.
“Today, women who want to have an abortion no longer need to justify themselves. The interview and the seven-day reflection period have thus been eliminated for adult women”, explains Véronique Séhier, co-president of planning. family. Minors must be accompanied by an adult of their choice, without this necessarily being a parent. Another important point: it’s free.
[????Journée du droit à l’avortement] For minors, the #IVG is:
? anonymous
? free
? does not require parental consent? Find out more: Abortion for minors, how does it work? https://t.co/mcVRJD5hnK pic.twitter.com/KlDVxT6Ma1
– Ministry of Solidarity and Health (@MinSoliSante) September 28, 2018
216,700 voluntary terminations of pregnancy
In 2017, 216,700 voluntary terminations of pregnancy were carried out in France, a figure that has been stable for many years. One in three women will face this ordeal at least once in her lifetime. Young women (20 to 24 years old) remain the most affected, with a rate of 26.7 abortions per 1,000 women throughout France. Next come women aged 25 to 30. Only 6% of minors are involved. The motivations are multiple: contraception problems, bad timing, separation, domestic violence …
Two possibilities are available to women wishing to have an abortion: the drug route (up to 7 weeks of pregnancy) or the instrumental route. Until the 12th week of pregnancy, this can be done in the hospital, in a planning center or even with a city doctor. All patients must have the right to choose between the two methods, and must receive a response no later than five days after their request.
Regional differences
Despite legal equality, regional differences in terms of abortion persist, with rates of recourse ranging from single to double depending on the region. In Metropolitan France, they vary from 10.2 IVG per 1,000 women in Pays de la Loire to 21.4 IVG in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. They are often higher in the DROMs and reach 33.6 in Guadeloupe.
“It all depends on where you live. Abortion is rarely one of the priority policies, so sometimes there are simply not enough doctors available to perform them”, laments Véronique Séhier. “Other doctors oppose their conscience clause, while there is already a general conscience clause for all medical acts. This double conscience clause has a strong symbolic value, because it makes abortion a medical act to share, while it is a right in its own right, “continues the professional.
A bill to remove the conscience clause
As recently as mid-September, the president of the National Union of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Bertrand de Rochambeau likened abortion to homicide. “Not all doctors are ready to stop a life. If it is wrong with something you have to do, I think it is better, in conscience, to entrust this gesture to someone else. “, did he declare. This Friday, September 28 in the morning, the former Minister of Women’s Rights Laurence Rossignol tabled, with several socialist senators, a bill aimed at removing the conscience clause specific to abortion.
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