France on Friday adopted into its constitution the right to have an abortion in a public ceremony timed to conincide with International Women's Day.
The public ceremony, held in Paris' Place Vendome, was marked by Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti sealing the amendment using a 19th-century printing press as supporters of the measure applauded the history-making moment, according to the Associated Press. France is the first country to enshrine abortion rights in its national charter.
The measure was approved by French lawmakers earlier this week in a 780-72 vote.
Abortion remains a divisive issue in the United States since the Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision allowing individual states to tighten restrictions on the termination of preganancies. European governments, meanwhile, have been gradually expanding abortion rights, with some exceptions, the AP reported. But abortion is banned or tightly restricted in Poland, for example, as well as a handful of smaller countries.
Women's rights advocates around the world, specifically in areas where women have limited access to birth control, and struggle for maternal health care rights, have praised France.
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the measure, calling it a direct result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 rescinding long-held abortion rights.
But abortion opponents have questioned Macron's motive behind the amended law, pointing to a country with no threat to abortion rights but one where women face several other important issues that have yet to be addressed.
The reception from French citizens is mixed, and while some women see the move as a major win, many others stated that not every French woman has access to abortion.
"It's a smokescreen," Arya Meroni, 32, said of the event.
"The government is destroying our health care system, many family planning clinics have closed,'' she said at an annual "Feminist Night March" in Paris on the eve of International Women's Day.
Suffering from an abnormally high rate of women killed by their partners, a standstill in prosecuting sexual abuse against women, and low pay concerns for women who are not white, many would assume these matters to be more critical to France.
Macron's government has defended its agenda, emphasizing the abortion amendment was vital to avoid a US-like scenario for women in France. Hard-right groups are allegedly gaining ground and looking to turn back the clock on freedoms around Europe.
Macron will preside over the constitutional ceremony. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti will use a 100-kilogram (220-pound) press from 1810 to imprint the amendment in France's 1958 constitution.
The phrase is to read, "the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed." The ceremony will be held outdoors with the public invited, in another first.
In a report from the United Nations Children's Agency, released on International Women's Day, the organization revealed that more than 230 million women and girls around the world have undergone female genital mutilation, with the number having increased by 30 million in the last eight years.
"We're also seeing a worrying trend that more girls are subjected to the practice at younger ages, many before their fifth birthday. That further reduces the window to intervene," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
