Alliance VITA denounces the detrimental new French abortion bill, which is totally disconnected from the real-life issues faced by pregnant women. The association calls for suspension of the legislative process until a real analysis of the causes, conditions and consequences of abortion has been carried out.
Due to the constant clamoring for a “right to abortion” throughout the debates, the voices of pregnant women have gone unheard; those who are faced with unexpected pregnancy and who abort reluctantly. It is illusory to think that all women abort of their own free will and after a genuine personal choice. The economic hardship, social pressure, and distress that many women experience is being blatantly ignored by the MPs.
Extending legal abortion deadlines is extremely violent for women because this bill does not provide any solution nor any assistance to women who wish to continue their pregnancy. In addition, abolishing the 48-hour reflection period for minors is a serious infringement on their personal liberty, and also increases the pressure to abort.
Moreover, voting an amendment to allow surgical abortions to be performed by midwives up to 14 weeks of pregnancy is yet another indication of how radical this bill is.
Nonetheless, Alliance VITA acknowledges the MPs who managed to reintroduce the specific freedom of conscience clause for healthcare professionals, thus defending this fundamental right.
“Given the circumstances, Alliance VITA calls for the legislative process to be halted until the causes, conditions and consequences of abortion have been properly assessed. The real priority is to protect pregnant women from all kinds of violence, including against the pressure to abort against their will, and this can only be done by developing a genuine abortion prevention policy,” declares Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s Assistant General Delegate.
