Decades after the criminalisation of abortion, France has passed a law exonerating women punished under pre-1975 laws, a move hailed by feminist groups.
The National Assembly voted unanimously on Thursday to approve the legislation, following its earlier passage in the Senate in March. The law recognises that enforcing pre-1975 abortion laws, which criminalised the practice, access to, and information about abortion, violated women’s health, sexual and reproductive autonomy, and broader women’s rights. It notes that these laws caused “numerous deaths” and inflicted “physical and moral suffering”.
Referencing her mother’s abortion in a speech to parliament, “This is an act of justice toward those thousands of lives shattered by unjust laws, Minister-Delegate for Gender Equality, Aurore Berge, added, “We have a responsibility to make amends, but above all we have a duty to sound the alarm”, citing ongoing attacks on women’s rights globally.
Between 1870 and 1975, more than 11,660 people were convicted for seeking or performing abortions, according to official estimates. While the new law does not provide reparations, it mandates the creation of a commission to document and preserve the memories of women forced into clandestine abortions and those who assisted them.
During Thursday’s session, lawmakers welcomed Claudine Monteil, one of the 343 women who in 1971 publicly admitted to having abortions and called for legalisation.
Abortion was decriminalised in France with the 1975 Veil Law, named after health minister and women’s rights advocate Simone Veil. In 2024, France became the first country to enshrine the right to terminate a pregnancy in its constitution.
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