President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for the “freedom” to obtain an abortion to be put into the current French Constitution. This would make France the second country in history to enshrine abortion in its constitution. The situation in France is complicated but also filled with hope, since the amendment isn’t guaranteed to pass. Here’s how things stand in France when it comes to abortion.
Simone Veil was the politician who pushed for abortion to be legalized in 1975 with the “Loi Veil” (Veil’s Law) which legalized abortion up to 10 weeks gestation. She explained in front of the National Assembly that, “I say with all my conviction, abortion should stay the exception, the last resort in situations without other solutions.” Veil explained that abortion should be available so that it could be controlled and that women should be given pro-life counseling. There were many illegal abortions happening at the time and she pushed this law so that women wouldn’t be hurt by illegal abortions anymore.
However, since 1975, abortion has become legal for minors without parental consent, and schools now teach students how to get abortions. There is no longer a waiting period, no pro-life counseling, and no longer a 10-week limit, with abortion now legal until 14 weeks gestation. It is completely free and now protected from free speech, with sidewalk counseling illegal along with “disinformation” online. The Loi Veil was passed by the conservative government of President Valerie Giscard d’Estaing, and since then almost every president has expanded it.
None of the political parties have an explicitly pro-life platform, with the far-left Nouvelle Union Populaire Ecologique et Sociale (NUPES) coalition in favor of constitutionalizing the unlimited right to abortion as well the Macronist presidential majority in favor of a limited right to it in the Constitution. The conservative Republicans (LR) and the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) remain divided. The only mainstream party that is against abortion has been the two-year old Reconquete! Party, led by Eric Zemmour, a conservative commentator who ran for office trying to unite both the LR and the RN. Still, none of the parties want to pass laws limiting abortion.
Despite the divisions, there is hope. Similar to how the French Resistance fought hard against Vichy and Hitler in World War Two, French pro-lifers are faithful and courageous. The pro-life movement is growing and is now represented by young adults who are working to save lives and change public opinion on abortion. In May, pro-life activists called “Les Survivants” launched a sticker campaign where they put thousands of pro-life stickers on rental bikes in Paris. This has been reported on all around the world and has made a big impact on the French.
March for Life takes place every January in Paris and last summer the Jerome Lejeune Foundation launched an annual camp for young pro-lifers. The pro-life movement in France also works to support women in desperate situations with crisis pregnancy organizations, even if they face harassment from the government.
Though political parties on the left and center are hostile to pro-lifers, there may be opportunities to grow a pro-life presence in the more conservative parties. Reconquete! leader Zemmour has spoken out on how abortion is wrong and has been expanded far beyond what it was meant to be when legalized in 1975. He works with Marion Marechale, who has spoken out against abortion and pushed to defund “comfort abortions” (repeated abortions). There are politicians in the RN and LR who also voted against Macron’s amendment and can be counted on to oppose the amendment when Macron proposes it in the near future.
Please pray for the elected officials in France, as well as for the pro-lifers who are outgunned and outnumbered. Vive La Resistance! Vive La France!