PARIS (AP) — The right to abortion in France hardly seems under threat — it’s been inscribed in law for 47 years and enjoys broad support across the political spectrum. But, the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strip women of the right to abortion has reverberated across Europe’s political landscape, forcing the issue back into public debate in France at a time of political upheaval.

With women increasingly taking leadership positions in French politics, lawmakers in both houses of parliament have proposed four bills to enshrine the right to abortion in the French Constitution. The most notable initiative comes from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance, while the critics accuse Macron’s party is being opportunist it of using the issue to distract from more pressing matters.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also expressed concerns over the potential effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on recent efforts to recriminalize abortion in Europe.  “It’s a stark warning that women’s rights should never be taken for granted,” Borne said last week. She called for inscribing these rights into the French Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

However the effort to inscribe abortion rights in the French Constitution may not succeed if Macron’s political rivals decide they don’t want to give him an easy win.

An inscription into France’s constitution “could make it harder for abortion opponents to challenge these rights, but it couldn’t prevent them from doing it in the long run.”

The European Union’s parliament adopted a resolution Thursday condemning the U.S. decision and urging the addition of a sentence reading “Everyone has a right to safe and legal abortion” to the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Abortion is legal and practiced without much political opposition in most EU nations, but is banned in Malta and sharply restricted in Poland.

Source: https://apnews.com