historian Claudine Monteil and senator Annick Billon welcome the Senate’s vote to include abortion in the Constitution

Claudine Monteil, who is also a signatory of the 343 manifesto, and Senator Annick Billon are delighted but also underline the importance of remaining vigilant.

An essential step towards a historic vote. On Wednesday, February 28, senators voted to include “guaranteed freedom to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy“in the Constitution.”This This evening is one of the most important evenings of my life.”, testifies on franceinfo Claudine Monteil, historian and signatory of the manifesto of 343, after the favorable vote of the Senate. The final stage is planned for Monday March 4 during the vote of the Congress meeting in Versailles.

The constitutional revision received the support of 267 votes to 50 at the Palais du Luxembourg, after more than three hours of sometimes agitated discussions, a large victory greeted by Claudine Monteil, “I am really very happy that, this evening, senators have understood that we have to be vigilant, and not just senators. There are men who voted in favor of this inscription and I am delighted.”

“A social subject”

For Annick Billon, centrist senator from Vendée and vice-president of the Delegation for Women’s Rights, “it is a great satisfaction for me who chaired the delegation for women’s rights from 2017 to 2023 in the Senate, and the impression of having succeeded in something which was quite unthinkable a few weeks or even a few months ago”, she testifies on franceinfo.

“The French have demonstrated that they are very attached to the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy” And “It definitely had an impact”, assures Annick Billon. The debate opened by this desire to constitutionalize abortion has made it possible, according to her, to move the lines, “There have been a few senators who changed their minds after discussions they were able to have with their loved ones, with their wives, with their daughters, with their entourage. It’s a social issue!”

The senator now hopes that this constitutionalization will allow concrete progress on access to the law, which is still unequal across the territory, she recalls in particular that “18% of women who have an abortion are forced to do so in a department other than the one in which they live.”

“A tribute to Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Veil and Gisèle Halimi”

“Tonight is one of the most important evenings of my life and of the lives of women who have been acting for years [pour cette cause]because in April 1971, the word abortion was still a taboo word!” recalls Claudine Monteil, signatory of the manifesto of the 343, “we could not pronounce it within French society as we were so afraid of being denounced, that we would be suspicious or that we would be told that we had had a clandestine abortion. On April 5, 1971 this taboo word was broken. That is to say that suddenly, the whole of French society begins to pronounce it.”

A fight waged with Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Veil and Gisèle Halimi, and she now wishes to say “how proud I am of today’s young generation, of the senators who voted in favor of this inclusion in the Constitution. I would like to say that this evening, it is also a tribute to Simone de Beauvoir that we must not forget her, besides Gisèle Halimi and Simone Veil.”

“Always remain vigilant”

“I think that abortion is and will always be in danger. Women’s rights are and will always be in danger. It only takes a very short period of time to change the condition of women”, supports Claudine Monteil. She particularly recalls her memories and experiences across the Atlantic: “I experienced it in the United States. I saw with the election of Reagan and the Republicans who came to power. I saw how it changed. I also saw under Trump how many women are victims of rape and who cannot have an abortion.”.

The historian also mentions this sentence that Simone de Beauvoir slipped to her in 1974: “all it takes is a political, economic or religious crisis for women’s rights to be called into question” and which illustrates the regressions that several countries, such as the United States, have recently experienced. She adds this caution for today’s feminists, “Throughout your life, you must remain vigilant.”. “I think this is an important message that is sent to all women around the world”also said Annick Billon, centrist senator from Vendée, after the Senate’s favorable vote for the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution.