France expected to become first country to enshrine right to abortion in constitution
France is expected to become the first country ever to protect the right to obtain an abortion in its constitution.
Parliamentarians from both chambers are scheduled to meet Monday in the Palace of Versailles for a special session called by President Emmanuel Macron, the BBC reported.
Both the upper and lower chambers of parliament are expected to vote for the motion by a three-fifths majority to amend a section of France's 1958 constitution to include the right to abortion.
"The law determines the conditions under which the freedom guaranteed to a woman to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy is exercised," the proposed amendment states, as translated.
French lawmakers said that the amendment comes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that overruled the landmark 1973 abortion case, Roe v. Wade.
Currently, any woman in France can obtain an abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy or 16 weeks after the first day of her last period.