The French Parliament has overwhelmingly voted to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, making France the first country on Earth to guarantee the “right” to murder unborn babies.
The government of Emmanuel Macron introduced the measure in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and to shore up support electoral support in the face of resurgent right-wing populist movements and parties throughout Europe, including France’s National Rally. National Rally is leading in French polls ahead of the European elections in June, dominating the pro-Macron bloc by 12 points.
Enshrining abortion rights is a way of “uniting against conservatives and reactionaries,” Christopher Weissberg, a Pro-Macron MP, told POLITICO. “It helped build consensus and show ourselves under a progressive light.”
But whether the move will be enough to take votes away from the far-left socialist bloc in the French parliament remains to be seen. Mathilde Panot, head of the left-wing France Unbowed group, claimed that Macron only introduced the measure because of far-left feminist groups and parliamentarians. “He can boast, but it’s first and foremost our victory,” she said.