Macron: Right to abortion to be included in EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
Published: Friday, Mar 8th 2024, 14:00
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French President Emmanuel Macron wants the right to abortion to be included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. France is now the only country in the world whose constitution explicitly protects the right to voluntary abortion, he said on Friday at the official signing of the law in Paris.
"And we will only find peace when this promise is kept all over the world. We will fight this battle on our continent, in our Europe, where reactionary forces attack women's rights first and again and again, before attacking the rights of minorities, the oppressed and all freedoms".
For this reason, the freedom to have an abortion should be included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is binding for all EU member states except Poland.
The two French chambers of parliament voted by a large majority on Monday to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution. In France, abortions up to the tenth week of pregnancy have been exempt from punishment since 1975. Pregnant women in France can now have an abortion up to the 14th week and the costs are covered by health insurance. In Germany, abortion in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy is not punishable if the woman receives counseling beforehand. However, the SPD, Greens and FDP in the German government are considering deleting paragraph 218 from the penal code.
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