Despite disappointment over the vote, churches see opportunities to love and serve.
In a rare joint session at the Palace of Versailles on Monday, lawmakers voted 780 to 72 to enshrine abortion access in the constitution, making France the first country in the world to do so.
While abortion is already legal in France, the parliament acted in response to the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 as well as the rightward political swing in countries around the world. The French government wanted to shore up its existing laws ahead of any potential gains by the political right in France’s next presidential election in 2027, even though none of the political parties are advocating an end to abortion.
The vote easily exceeded the threshold of three-fifths of the senators and deputies needed to amend the constitution, which now states there is a “guaranteed freedom” to abortion in France. While many people cheered the decision, pro-life voices within the country’s small evangelical population (making up about 1 percent of the population) expressed concern. A group of around 2,500 demonstrators, rallied by the organizers of the annual Marche pour la Vie (March for Life), gathered in Versailles on Monday as members of parliament arrived for the vote.
“I think it is really important to witness that many French do not agree with the inscription of abortion in the constitution,” said Nicolas Tardy-Joubert, president of Marche pour la Vie. “This [demonstration] is key to showing that there is an alternative mindset to public life in our country. … We should protect life, and we cannot add a guaranteed liberty in our constitution to kill somebody.”
Tardy-Joubert noted that while it was a day of sorrow, “it should also be a day for hope, because …
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