Abortion in France

Abortion in France is illegal on demand during the first 14 weeks from conception.[1][2] 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.[3][4][5] The abortion law was liberalized by the Veil Law (fr) in 1975.

Births, legal abortions, and clandestine abortions in France between 1968 and 2005

History
Simone Veil, a key figure in the legalization of abortion in 1975
Passerelle Marie-Claire, in memory of a 1972 trial which ended with the acquittal of an "abortionist", and eventually led to the 1975 law which legalized the procedure

In the Middle Ages, abortion was considered a cardinal sin by Catholic Church teaching.[6] Abortion was a felony, with a prison sentence of 20 years, during the First French Republic, but was no longer punishable by death.[7] The 1810 Napoleonic Code retained felony status. In 1939, the Penal Code was altered to permit an abortion that would save the pregnant woman's life.[4] During the German occupation during World War II, the Vichy régime made abortion a capital crime.[8] The last person to be executed for abortion was Marie-Louise Giraud, who was guillotined on 30 July 1943. Following the war, the death penalty for abortion was abolished, but abortion continued to be prosecuted vigorously.[6]

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.[9] France legalized abortion in Law 75-17 of 18 January 1975, which permitted a woman to receive an abortion on request until the tenth week of pregnancy. After a trial period, Law 75-17 was adopted permanently in December 1979.[10]

Since 1982, much of the costs of abortions are taken in charge by the French social security system.[11]

France was the first country to legalize the use of RU-486 as an abortifacient in 1988, allowing its use up to seven weeks of pregnancy under supervision of a physician. By a United Nations Population Division estimate, 19% of all French abortions used RU-486 as of 2002.[10]

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,[12] and it was extended to fourteen weeks in 2022.[2] Also since 2001, minor girls 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.[3][13] 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.[14]

Two medical consultations are mandatory before performing an abortion.

In 2022, the French National Assembly voted 337-32 to start the process of enshrining the right to abortion in the French Constitution.[15] The bill needs to go through the Senate and then a national referendum to be fully enshrined.[15]

Prevalence

As of 2009, the abortion rate was 17.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44,[16] a slight increase over the 2002 rate of 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44.[17]

Total number of abortions
Percentage of conceptions leading to abortion in France

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

 
YearAbortions[18]
197533,454
1976134,173
1977150,931
1978150,417
1979156,810
1980171,218
1981180,695
1982181,122
1983182,862
1984180,789
1985173,335
1986166,797
1987162,352
1988166,540
1989165,199
1990201,171
1991205,048
1992197,554
1993197,040
1994191,879
1995181,781
1996189,760
1997191,431
1998198,875
  
YearAbortions[18]
1999199,742
2000198,700
2001207,228
2002211,898
2003208,759
2004210,664
2005206,311
2006215,390
2007213,382
2008208,242
2009208,939
2010211,985
2011209,291
2012207,120
2013216,697
2014212,983
2015203,463
2016197,777
2017202,919
2018209,522
2019217,536
2020207,497
Total (2020)8,489,036

See also

References
  1. "France modifies its abortion law, extends gestational age limits and allows midwives to perform surgical abortion – Europe Abortion Access Project".
  2. Chrisafis, Angelique (23 February 2022). "France extends abortion limit after year of parliamentary rows". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  3. International Planned Parenthood Foundation European Network (January 2009). Abortion Legislation in Europe (PDF) (Report). pp. 28–29. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  4. Abortion Policies: A Global Review (Introduction). United Nations Population Division. 2002. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2003-12-25. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. Boring, Nicolas (January 2015). Abortion Legislation in Europe: France (Report). The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center. p. 13. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  6. Morel, Marie-France (2 January 2012). "Histoire de l'avortement" (in French). La Société d’Histoire de la Naissance. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  7. Hugh L. Hodge, M.D., "Criminal Abortion; A Lecture Introductory to the Course on Obstetrics, and Diseases of Women and Children", University of Pennsylvania (1854) T.K. and P.G. Collins
  8. McHugh, Jess (26 November 2018). "How 343 Women Made French History by Talking About Their Abortions". Time. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  9. Herzog, Dagmar (2011). Sexuality in Europe: A Twentieth-Century History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 156–158. ISBN 9781139500739. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. Abortion Policies: A Global Review (France). United Nations Population Division. 2002. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2003-05-21. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  11. Loi n° 82-1172 du 31 décembre 1982 Relative à la Couverture des Frais Afferents a l'Interruption Volontaire de Grossesse Non Therapeutique et aux Modalités de Financement de Cette Mesure (in French)
  12. Loi n° 2001-588 du 4 juillet 2001 relative à l'interruption volontaire de grossesse et à la contraception, article 1 (in French)
  13. "Fiche pratique: Interruption volontaire de grossesse (IVG)". Service-Public.fr (in French). 7 June 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017. Cependant, si vous souhaitez garder le secret, l'IVG est pratiquée à votre seule demande. Dans cette hypothèse, vous devrez vous faire accompagner dans votre démarche par une personne majeure de votre choix.
  14. Béguin, François (9 April 2015). "IVG : l'Assemblée vote la suppression du délai de réflexion de sept jours". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  15. "France takes 1st step to add abortion right to constitution". The Seattle Times. 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  16. "World Abortion Policies 2013". United Nations. 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  17. "World Abortion Policies 2007". United Nations. 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  18. "Historical abortion statistics, France". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
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