Abortion in France

Births, legal abortions, and clandestine abortions in France between 1968 and 2005

Abortion in France is legal upon request until 14 weeks after conception (16 weeks after the pregnant woman's last menstrual period). Abortions at later stages of pregnancy up until birth are allowed if two physicians certify that the abortion will be done to prevent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman; a risk to the life of the pregnant woman; or that the child will suffer from a particularly severe illness recognized as incurable. The abortion law was liberalized by the Veil Act in 1975.

History

Simone Veil, a key figure in the legalization of abortion in 1975

Passerelle Marie-Claire, in memory of a 1972 trial which ended with the acquittal of an "abortionist", and eventually led to the 1975 law which legalized the procedure

The First French Republic saw the act of abortion being changed from an act punishable by death to a felony with a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. When the 1810 Napoleonic Code was introduced as a revision of the French Penal Code of 1791, as well as the Code of Offences and Penalties of 1795, abortion retained its felony status. Alongside this, the new penal code made it more difficult for women to divorce their husbands.

In 1920, new abortion laws prohibited the act of abortion, as well as the use of contraception, on the grounds of needing new babies to make up for the loss of population caused by World War I, and to boost the birth rate of France that had been considerably lower than other European countries for over a century. The introduction of the Law of 27 March 1923 stated that whoever induced a miscarriage was punished with up to 5 years imprisonment, as well as a fine of up to 10,000 FF, while the woman having the abortion could be imprisoned for up to 3 years.

Just a month before the invasion of Poland, the Penal Code was altered to permit abortions, but only in the instance where the mother's life was in danger. However, with the German Occupation and the implementation of the Vichy Government, abortion was made a capital crime, punishable by death, in the Law of 15 February 1942. The last person to be executed for abortion was Marie-Louise Giraud, a faiseuse d'anges (French slang; literally, "maker of angels") who performed abortions in the region of Cherbourg. For her assisted abortions, she was sentenced to death by guillotine on 30 July 1943.

Following the Liberation of Paris in 1944, the death penalty for abortion was abolished, but abortion continued to be prosecuted vigorously. Illegal abortion rates remained fairly high during the post-war period, and increasing numbers of women began to travel to the United Kingdom to procure abortions after the UK legalized abortion in 1967.

During the period of civil unrest during and after the events of May 1968, a new civil rights movement was becoming prominent throughout the media, campaigning for more equal rights and opportunities for women. The Mouvement de Libération des Femmes's ("The Women's Liberation Front") main goal was to advocate for women's right of autonomy from their husbands, as well as rights that pertained to the use of contraception and legalization of abortion.

In 1971, the "Manifesto of the 343", an open letter and petition, was written by Simone de Beauvoir and published in Le Nouvel observateur. It included the signatures of 343 women who admitted to having had an illegal abortion (punishable by up to 10 years in prison at the time). The petition included the names of many famous female personalities, including Jeanne Moreau and Catherine Deneuve. The manifesto aimed to highlight the prevalence of abortion in French society, despite its clandestine nature, as well as to call for abortion to be made legal, in order to provide more safe and hygienic spaces for women who want to have an abortion. Later the same year, lawyer Gisèle Halimi, herself one of the 343 women, formed her own group, Choisir ("To Choose"), which worked to protect those who had signed the petition.

In 1975, La Loi Veil ("The Veil Act") was passed, decriminalizing abortion in France. The law was introduced by the presiding Health Minister Simone Veil, under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. D'Estaing had promised to decriminalize abortion during his campaign; however, Jean Lecanuet, then Minister of Justice, refused to defend the law on personal and ethical grounds, and so, it was up to Veil to prepare the law for vote. The debate that preceded the eventual passing of the vote was accompanied by violent attacks and demonstrations comparing Veil, a concentration camp survivor, with Hitler. In her speech before the National Assembly on 26 November 1974, Veil declared the need for the legalization of abortion, so as to bring equality in France, as well as explaining to the majority-male assembly that current French law did not protect women who were suffering from the social exclusion and shame as a result of illegal abortions, as well as the after effects that led to illnesses (such as septicemia) and even death, calling for the law to offer them protection with a change of law to legalize abortions.

The Veil Act (Law 75–17 of 15 January 1975), permitted a woman to receive an abortion on request until the tenth week of pregnancy. This was a temporary law with a sunset clause after 5 years. The law was renewed permanently in December 1979.

Since 1982, much of the costs of abortions are taken in charge by the French social security system, which allows women in France to access abortion free of charge. France was the first country to legalize the use of Mifepristone as an abortifacient in 1988, allowing its use up to seven weeks of pregnancy under supervision of a physician, while vacuum aspiration is used for up to 12 weeks.

21st century liberalization

The 8 March 2024 amendment to the Constitution of France granting constitutional protection to the right to an abortion.

Several reforms took place in the 21st century, further liberalizing access to abortion. The ten-week limit was extended to the twelfth week in 2001, and it was extended to fourteen weeks in 2022. Also since 2001, minors no longer need mandatory parental consent. A pregnant girl under the age of 18 may ask for an abortion without consulting her parents first if she is accompanied to the clinic by an adult of her choice, who must not tell her parents or any third party about the abortion. Until 2015, the law imposed a seven-day "cool-off" period between the patient's first request for an abortion and a written statement confirming her decision (the delay could be reduced to two days if the patient was getting close to 12 weeks). That mandatory waiting period was abolished on 9 April 2015.

In reaction to the Supreme Court of the United States's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, Mathilde Panot, the leader of the La France insoumise group in the National Assembly, introduced a bill for an amendment adding the right to a safe abortion to the Constitution. It passed on a 337–32 vote on 24 November 2023. However, a private member's bill for a constitutional amendment needs to be approved by referendum; in order to avoid one, the government introduced a similar bill in December. It was passed 433–30 by the lower house in January, and by the Senate 267–50 in February.

The amendment, which takes the form of a one-line addition to article 34 (the list of matters on which Parliament may legislate), was given final approval in a congress (joint session) of Parliament on 4 March 2024, in a 780 to 72 vote. It was signed into law by President Emmanuel Macron on 8 March (International Women's Day). This amendment made France, as of passage, the only nation to guarantee the right to an abortion in their constitution. The amendment describes abortion as a "guaranteed freedom"; while Yugoslavia included similar measures in 1974 guaranteeing the right to "decide on having children", the French amendment is the first to explicitly guarantee abortion.

Timeline of abortion laws, events, and enactments in French history

• 1920: The prohibition of contraception and abortions, crime punishable by the Assize Court (3 months to 6 years in prison). "Propaganda in favor of abortion" is forbidden.
• 1939: Family Law. The creation of police brigades charged with tracking down faiseuses d'anges ("angel makers").
• 1941: People suspected of having participated in an abortion can be referred before the Tribunal State.
• 1942: Law of 15 February: Abortion becomes a capital crime, punishable by death. A faiseuse d'ange, Marie-Louise Giraud, is killed by guillotine the following year.
• 1955: Therapeutic abortion is legalized. Focus on the contraceptive pill in the United States.
• 1956: The foundation of "Maternité heureuse" ("Happy Motherhood") by Mari-Andrée Lagroua Weill-Hallé and Évelyne Sullerot, which becomes "Planning familal" ("Family Planning") in 1960
• 1967 (28 December): The Neuwirth Act legalizes contraception, but publicity in its favor is still forbidden.
• 1971: The Manifesto of the 343 is signed by 343 women, declaring that they have had an illegal abortion.
• 1972: The creation of planning centers and information establishments. The Bobigny Trail takes place regarding the actions of Marie-Claire Chevalier.
• 1973: The introduction of sex education in high schools and colleges.
• 1974: Contraception is reimbursed by health insurance; anonymous and free of charge for minors and those without insurance from planning centers. Feminist mobilization for the right to an abortion
• 1975: The Veil Act legalizes IVG (l'Interruption Volontaire de Grossesse, "The Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy"). Legalized until 10 weeks of pregnancy.
• 1979: The definitive vote to legalize abortion
• 1981: The Lahache Ruling: The woman is the sole judge of the need for an abortion.
• 1982: Reimbursement of abortion by health insurance.
• 1990: France law legalizes the use of medical abortion (using Mifepristone) in a hospital setting.
• 1993: The decriminalization of the offence of "self-abortion" and creation of the Offence of Obstructing Abortion.
• 2000: Authorization of dispensing emergency contraception with a prescription; for minors, it is free in pharmacies; student nurses andauthorized to administer emergency contraception in cases of distress.
• 2001: Law from 14 July legalizes the termination of pregnancy until the 12th week of pregnancy.
• 2004: Medical abortion is legalized in primary care.
• 2007: Medical abortions are now available to be performed in Family Planning and Education Centers (Les Centres de planifications et d'éducation familiale).
• 2013: Abortion is entirely reimbursed by Social Security, and the cost of medical treatment has been raised to increase the number of practitioners.
• 2013: A government site dedicated to providing information about abortion is launched by Najat Vallaud-Belkacem.
• 2014: The Vallaud-Belkacem law from 4 August removes the condition of "proven distress" that the 1975 law required for entitlement to an abortion.
• 2016: The enactment of the extension of the offence of obstructing abortion (un delit d'entrave) to digital platforms.
• 2022: The legal deadline for abortion changes from 12 weeks to 14 weeks.
• 2024: The right to an abortion is enshrined in the French Constitution.

Prevalence

As of 2009, the abortion rate was 17.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44, a slight increase over the 2002 rate of 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44.

Total number of abortions

Percentage of conceptions leading to abortion in France

The following tables cover metropolitan France only and do not include the Overseas departments of France (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion).

Year Abortions 1975 33,454 1976 134,173 1977 150,931 1978 150,417 1979 156,810 1980 171,218 1981 180,695 1982 181,122 1983 182,862 1984 180,789 1985 173,335 1986 166,797 1987 162,352 1988 166,540 1989 165,199 1990 201,171 1991 205,048 1992 197,554 1993 197,040 1994 191,879 1995 181,781 1996 189,760 1997 191,431 1998 198,875

Year Abortions 1999 199,742 2000 198,700 2001 207,228 2002 211,898 2003 208,759 2004 210,664 2005 206,311 2006 215,390 2007 213,382 2008 208,242 2009 208,939 2010 211,985 2011 209,291 2012 207,120 2013 216,697 2014 211,764 2015 203,463 2016 197,777 2017 202,919 2018 209,522 2019 217,536 2020 207,497 2021 208,248 2022 218,441

See also

• Abortion law
• Abortion debate
• Abortion-rights movements
• Birth control in France
• Catholic Church and abortion
• Feminism in France
• March for Life (Paris)