absent from the congress, Macron plans to speak on Friday

Midwives are asking on Monday to benefit from the same safeguards as doctors to practice instrumental abortions in order to allow their access everywhere in France. A decree published in mid-December allows midwives to perform instrumental abortions in hospitals equipped to handle extremely rare complications.

This text thus requires the presence of “a doctor specializing in orthogenics, a gynecologist-obstetrician, an anesthetist and an embolization tray” in the establishment, conditions to which only “large maternity hospitals” meet , underlines Caroline Combot, president of the national trade union organization of midwives (ONSSF), to AFP.

These requirements are not required for abortions which are performed by a doctor, notes the ONSSF which requests that “the standards requested be the same” for midwives and doctors in the exercise of abortion.

According to several corroborating sources at BFMTV, Emmanuel Macron plans to go to the Ministry of Justice alongside Éric Dupond-Moretti this Friday, March 8, the date on which the sealing ceremony of the Constitution should take place, after the vote of Congress on the entry of abortion into the fundamental text.

This choice of March 8 is not by chance: International Women’s Rights Day takes place on that day.

Furthermore, this event would give a window of opportunity to Emmanuel Macron, whose presence during a vote in Congress is not authorized by the Constitution.

“The (constitutional) revision of 2008 allows the President of the Republic to speak in Congress, but within the framework of a debate without a vote,” explained Emmanuel Macron’s entourage to BFMTV.

“What we are going to do this afternoon is to affirm that the French Republic is no longer the Republic without the right to abortion,” says environmentalist senator Mélanie Vogel on France Inter. She herself had proposed a constitutional law to bring abortion into the Constitution.

The elected representative of the Luxembourg Palace welcomes a “formidable message to the whole world”. “At a time when so many setbacks are happening, there is a positive path, of progress, of hope,” she emphasizes.

Yaël Braun-Pivet indicates on France 2 that she will bring together “this week, at the National Assembly, 25 presidents of Parliament, who will come from all over the world”.

“We will talk about the place of women in politics, their right to education, contraception, the fight against violence against women, forced marriage, excision and – obviously – the freedom to resort to “voluntary termination of pregnancy”, the boss of the Palais Bourbon had developed on Saturday in West France.

In the newspaper, she specified that the event would be held on Wednesday March 6.

Guest of RMC, François Olivennes, gynecologist-obstetrician, warns of the lack of specialists to carry out abortions. While he welcomes its entry into the Constitution, which will make any step backwards as in the United States complicated, he nevertheless adds:

“If there are no more gynecologists to perform abortions, it won’t change anything. There is a problem of access.”

“Family Planning says that 130 abortion centers have closed in 15 years and there are around 30% of women who want an abortion who have it outside their department of residence,” he explains.

“One in three women are forced to go elsewhere either because they do not have access or because the delays are long, and that is also a problem. What is important, at the same time, is to try to secure access and therefore practitioners.”

Sandrine Rousseau says she is “very moved” on France Info, before the Congress. “This is a moment when we are going to go to Versailles for a fundamental right which is the freedom of women to dispose of their bodies,” believes the environmentalist MP.

“It is also written into the Constitution that freedom is not expressed in quite the same way when you are a man and when you are a woman,” also underlines the elected official from Paris.

While relaying a “message sent to Americans, to Hungarians, to all women in the world who cannot have access to abortion”.

Leader of the rebellious deputies, Mathilde Panot says she feels “a lot of emotions and pride” at the microphone of France Inter, before the vote of Parliament in Congress on the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution.

“It’s rare these moments in political history, when you know that you are writing the history of France, but also of the world,” she said, stressing that our country will be the first to register this “guaranteed freedom” in the Constitution.

If she notes a “parliamentary victory”, Mathilde Panot believes that it is above all a success “of feminist activists, associations and collectives who, for years, have been fighting for the right of women to dispose of their body”.

The member for Val-de-Marne had herself proposed a constitutional law on the subject, before Emmanuel Macron announced a bill.

“Today in Congress, we will be able to simply protect the freedom of women to dispose of their bodies,” said Aurore Bergé, minister responsible for equality between women and men, on TF1.

Formerly leader of the Renaissance deputies, she had proposed a bill to constitutionalize abortion, just like the rebellious Mathilde Panot, before the President of the Republic announced a draft constitutional law.

Today, “there are still obstacles” to abortion, believes Aurore Bergé in response to those who oppose this text, considering in particular that this right is not threatened in France.

“You have women who go to centers and who [voient] graffiti that still treat them as murderers,” she emphasizes.

Certainly, “there is no suspense” before the vote of Parliament in congress, but “that does not mean that it is not an important moment”, estimates Yaël Braun-Pivet on France 2. The president of the National Assembly judges that “France is reconnecting with its universalist tradition”.

“France is the homeland of human rights,” she emphasizes, before recalling that during “the declaration of human rights in 1789, we proclaimed to the whole world that there were fundamental rights and freedoms.

“Today, we are going to include a new fundamental right in our Constitution, we will be the first to do so,” she insists.

“This is a historic moment, an important moment for the women of our country,” describes Éric Dupond-Moretti on RTL before the vote of Parliament meeting in Congress on the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution.

“We must not wait until a right is threatened to protect it,” insists the Minister of Justice.

“Every nine minutes, there is a woman who dies in the world because she was forced to undergo a clandestine abortion,” he recalls, noting a “great advance for women’s rights” which “particularly moving”.

“It is a universal message that France is sending to the world: we will be the first country to engrave in our Constitution this fundamental freedom for women to dispose of their bodies,” declared Éric Dupond-Moretti.

“When women’s rights are attacked around the world, France stands up and places itself at the forefront of progress,” Gabriel Attal wrote on X (ex-Twitter) last Wednesday, after the Senate voted by majority the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution.

“It’s an immense step forward. It’s protection that we owe to all women. It’s recognition of their right to freely dispose of their bodies,” welcomed the Prime Minister, meeting at the Congress of this Monday, where he will speak.

Guest of BFMTV, the rebellious MP Alexis Corbière presented abortion as an “inalienable right” this Sunday March 3. While emphasizing that its inclusion in the Constitution creates “consensus in society”.

“It is time to constitutionalize it (this right), precisely because it is not something petty, political, it is a right accepted by the vast majority of society,” he said .

Rebellious MEP, Manon Aubry speaks on RFI of a “historic moment”, a few hours before the vote of parliamentarians on the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution. She mentions “this day when women in our country can know that we will never go back.”

“Never again will we be able to call into question this fundamental right to dispose of one’s own body,” insists the elected official.

The inclusion of abortion in the Constitution “absolutely does not render” the conscience clause of health professionals obsolete, assured the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, Sunday March 3 on Radio J.

“The doctor who does not want to (perform an abortion) will obviously have the right and the freedom not to want to. We are not going to violate consciences. And that is already guaranteed by the Constitution,” said affirmed the Minister of Justice, recalling that “freedom of conscience is already constitutional”.

Our article

The inclusion of the “guaranteed freedom” of women to have an abortion in the Constitution will make it possible to better protect this right, threatened in certain countries.

The use of abortion is already guaranteed in French law by the Simone Veil law, passed in 1975.

This right could, however, be called into question if a new majority decides to change the law. Voting on a text in Parliament is in fact much simpler than changing the Constitution, which requires bringing Parliament together in Congress or organizing a referendum.

Once abortion is included in the Constitution, a majority that wants to restrict this right would therefore see its text censored by the Constitutional Council.

Our article

The inclusion of abortion in the Constitution has broad consensus among the French population, who support it by more than 80%, according to various surveys. This reform ended up gradually establishing itself in the political landscape.

Even the right and its extreme, who were historically opposed to it or politically skeptical, ended up voting for it in majority, despite certain reluctance.

The outcome of the parliamentarians’ vote is in little doubt this afternoon. The National Assembly (493 deputies for, 30 against) and the Senate (267 senators for, 50 against), voted overwhelmingly for the inclusion of “guaranteed freedom” for abortion in the Constitution.

The 925 parliamentarians meeting this afternoon will have to vote favorably on this constitutional revision by 3/5ths for it to be adopted.

Hello everyone, welcome to this live dedicated to the inclusion of voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in the Constitution, which is the subject of a Congress in Versailles, from 3:30 p.m.

Follow this historic day on BFMTV.com and BFMTV.