France became the first country to enshrine abortion rights into its constitution on Monday.
“We’re sending a message to all women: Your body belongs to you, and no one can decide for you,” French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told members of parliament and senators at a historic joint session of the French legislature at the Palace of Versailles.
The vote of all 925 French legislators was 780-72 in favor of the amendment.
France legalized abortion up to 12 weeks gestation in 1974 but moved to change its laws following the U.S. Supreme Court‘s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade‘s federal protections for abortion in 2022.
In 2022, France increased the legal limit for abortion from 12 to 14 weeks gestation amid outrage that French women often had to travel abroad to obtain the procedure.
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