Abortion in France is legal upon request until 14 weeks after conception (16 weeks after the pregnant woman's last menstrual period).^[1][2][3] 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.^[4][5][6] The abortion law was liberalized by the Veil Act in 1975.

History

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 person having the abortion could be imprisoned for up to 2 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 miscarriages, she was sentenced to death by guillotine on 30 July 1943.

Following the Liberation of Paris in 1944, the death penalty for abortion was reformed, 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 the 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 Catherine Denevue. 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 to have an abortion. Later the same year, lawyer Gisèle Halimi, herself one of the 343, had 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 paralleling 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 despite its illegality 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

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,^[7] and it was extended to fourteen weeks in 2022.^[3] 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.^[4][8] 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.^[9]

Two medical consultations are mandatory before performing an abortion.^{[citation needed]}

In reaction to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Mathilde Panot, French MP and President of the La France insoumise parliamentary group submitted a bill to the French National Assembly. It aimed to codify the right to a safe abortion for women in the French Constitution. It passed on a 337–32 vote on 24 November 2023, starting the process of enshrining the right to abortion in the French Constitution.^[10] In January 2024, the National Assembly voted in favor of the constitutional amendment 433–30. For the amendment to be officially added to the constitution, it then passed through the Senate in February 267–50.^[11]

On 4 March 2024, Parliament amended Article 34 in a 780 to 72 vote. This amendment made France, as of passage, the only nation to guarantee the right to an abortion in their constitution.^[12] The amendment describes abortion as a "guaranteed freedom";^[13] 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 et 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, 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 mobalisation 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 and authorized to administer emergency contraception in cases of distress.
• 2001: Law 14 July legalizes the termination of pregnancy into the 12th week of pregnancy
• 2004: Medical abortion is legalized in primary care.
• 2007: Medical abortion 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.^[14]
• 2014: The Vallaud-Belkacem 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^[update], the abortion rate was 17.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44,^[15] a slight increase over the 2002 rate of 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44.^[16]

Total number of abortions

Includes the Overseas departments of France (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion).