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For reproductive rights advocates, this week’s breakthrough in France was one of the most striking international victories in recent memory. The Associated Press reported:
French lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill that will enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in France’s constitution, a historic move designed to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the United States in recent years. In an exceptional joint session of parliament convened at the Palace of Versailles, the bill was approved in a 780-72 vote.
Abortion rights enjoy majority support in the United States, but in France, backing is even more lopsided: As the AP report added, “None of France’s major political parties represented in parliament have questioned the right to abortion,” and after yesterday’s vote, “nearly the entire hall in France stood in a long standing ovation.”
It was soon followed by “jubilant scenes of celebrations all over France.”
But of particular interest was the impetus for French policymakers. President Emmanuel Macron began the effort to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, not just because of his support for the policy, but in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The Associated Press’ report went on to note:
The government argued in its introduction to the bill that the right to abortion is threatened in the United States, where the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned a 50-year-old ruling that used to guarantee it. ... The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court 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.
Mathilde Philip-Gay, a law professor and a specialist in French and American constitutional law, warned, “[W]hat happened in the U.S. can happen elsewhere in Europe, including in France.”
For generations, the United States has encouraged the world to follow our lead. In 2024, thanks to Republican officials and Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices, the United States is less of a model and more of a cautionary tale.