On October 4, 2016, the French socialist deputies announced they will introduce a bill on “numerical obstruction” to abortion, to compensate for the government’s failed attempt to forcibly introduce an amendment to the law entitled “Equality and Citizenship” currently being examined in the Senate.
Laurence Rossignol, the French Minister for Families, Children and Women’s Rights tabled this amendment on September 27, but the special committee in charge of the bill declared it inadmissible. Thus the government has failed to change the legislation so far. A different strategy has now been implemented via a parliamentary initiative and the tabling a new bill. This will presumably be a repeat of the terms of the old amendment or a similar version. Bruno Le Roux, President of the Socialist party at the French National Assembly intends to ask the government for an “accelerated procedure”, whereby the text would only be examined once by the Assembly and once by the Senate.
In conjunction with the Socialist party’s “time slot” (time regularly scheduled for each political party to debate their own bills), or if needed using the interval reserved for the government, the overall majority goal remains to vote this draft law as quickly as possible: before the end of the French National Assembly’s civil year, then in the Senate before the end of February, when the Parliament session will close due to presidential elections.
Alliance VITA denounces the intention to create a new offence which is both unacceptable and unenforceable. VITA calls for an unbiased discussion on a genuine political abortion prevention policy, especially for women confronted with unplanned pregnancies. A petition has been launched against the government’s censure and in favor of better information on the benefits and support to which pregnant women are entitled.
