French senators will vote this week on whether to inscribe the right to an abortion in the constitution, a move designed to bolster reproductive rights after the Roe v Wade ruling in the United States.
A large majority of MPs voted in favour of the bill, which promises to “guarantee the effectiveness of and equal access to the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy”.
However, the bill still needs the approval of the right-leaning senate, which rejected a similar proposition by a margin of 33 votes in October. During a tense debate, Republican senators argued that abortion was not under threat in France.
Others say that France need only look to the US and its European neighbours to see that abortion rights are not set
