EDITORIAL. Why Emmanuel Macron wants to include abortion in the Constitution

No political leader in France questions the right to abortion. But if this right is not threatened here, it is elsewhere on the globe: in the United States or even in certain countries within the European Union. By allowing the inclusion of voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in the Constitution, Emmanuel Macron wants to take up the torch of the progressive camp in the world, six months before the European elections.

But it is also for the president, a welcome counter-fire. A way of forgetting that, in a context of increased terrorist threat in France, Emmanuel Macron still cannot find a majority capable of voting for his law on immigration, announced more than a year ago. A backfire that has the air of déjà vu. Emmanuel Macron had already announced this inclusion of abortion in the constitution on March 8, in the middle of the debate on pension reform.

Emmanuel Macron wants to leave a mark in history

The president has another interest in revisiting the subject today: avoiding a referendum. It became urgent to pull the rug out from under the rebels. With the parliamentary process well advanced, Mathilde Panot, president of the group, was preparing to open the door to a referendum on this subject. This is precisely what the president wanted to avoid as the theme is divisive, there is no question of giving a disproportionate platform to the opponents of the text, explains the Élysée. Hence the interest in the government bill announced by the president which will allow ratification by the two chambers meeting in congress and therefore avoid a consultation of the French.

The president knows that for this, he must leave his mark on society. Forever, Francois Mitterrand will remain associated with the abolition of the death penalty, Giscard with the decriminalization of abortion, François Hollande with marriage for all. However, until now Emmanuel Macron has only made one reform in this area: the opening of the PMA for all, postponed several times and carried out with many precautions. So this president who swore only by economic and social issues is trying, before it is too late, to write another story, without taking too many risks this time. According to Ifop, nearly nine out of ten French people are in favor of including the right to abortion in the Constitution.