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FRANCE
Loosening of abortion laws
National Assembly approves laws affecting teens
France’s National Assembly passed proposed legislation on October 5 to allow underage girls to receive the abortifacient “morning-after” pill in pharmacies or from school nurses without a prescription.
The “morning-after” pill must be taken within three days of sexual intercourse and prevents the unborn embryonic child from implanting in his mother’s womb. It is different from the RU-486 pill, which causes abortion up to 12 weeks after conception. The bill, which was passed by a show of hands, was to be taken up by the Senate at the end of the month.
France’s highest court had ruled last year that school nurses could not distribute the “morning-after” pills without a prescription.
Meanwhile, the French Government proposed new legislation that would allow underage girls to receive abortions without their parents’ consent and allow late-term abortions. The bill, proposed by Socialist minister Martine Aubry, would extend the legal limit for abortion from 10 to 12 weeks, allowing the 5,000 women per year who travel abroad for late-term abortions to receive them at home. Currently, only abortions to save the life of the mother or to kill an unborn child with birth defects are permitted after 10 weeks.
The bill requires approval by both houses of the legislature, the National Assembly and the Senate, where it faces opposition. The proposed changes have sparked controversy, particularly among conservatives, and President Jacques Chirac’s Rally For the Republic party has said it would not oppose the term extension, but questioned the end of parental consent. “There are many dire situations where a young girl cannot ask for her parents’ permission,” Chirac said. “Nonetheless, the exception should not become the rule.”
Aubry also announced plans to end a ban on abortion advertising and information campaigns, saying it has hampered dissemination of information about birth control and legal abortions.
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