Embarrassment: it’s a nice euphemism to evoke the convolutions of the spokespersons of the National Rally on this question of the right to abortion and its inclusion in the Constitution, since they refuse to vote the text… while not positioning themselves , explicitly, against voluntary termination of pregnancy. A paradoxical position that Marine Le Pen tried to clarify, Wednesday June 29 on franceinfo. “The right of access to abortion is not questioned by anyone, says Marine Le Pen. Personally, I’m willing that because another country challenges it, it should be written into our Constitution, but are we going to write into our Constitution that we don’t have the right to stone women because that in Afghanistan they have the right to do so.”
There is a lot to be said for this argument. Already, putting on the same plane the United States, which is a liberal democracy, and Afghanistan, which is an authoritarian theocracy, is of course totally fallacious. The two situations are incomparable. But above all, the heart of the position defended by Marine Le Pen would be that “nobody” does not want to question the right to abortion in France. This is the first of the avoidance strategies: denial. Is it factually founded? Answer: no. Among the National Assembly deputies, we find in particular Christophe Bentz, Caroline Parmentier and Hervé de Lépiau, who have all three compared abortion to genocide. As for Laure Lavalette, deputy and spokesperson for the Rassemblement national, in 2014 she signed the public charter of the association “Choisir la vie”, in which she pledged to fight to repeal, in the long term, the law on abortion.
VIDEO ▶ Inscription of abortion in the Constitution: “It’s a political diversion”, assures Marine Le Penhttps://t.co/RM2hkFTU6j pic.twitter.com/TLqC6bjthd
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) June 29, 2022
Marine Le Pen is therefore caught in the act of lying but it does not matter. When denial fails, there remains another strategy: interpretation. We say more “it’s not true”but… “it’s not really that”. “There is a political movementcontinues Marine Le Pen. This political movement determines a political line which is voted by the members. I’ve been wearing it for 10 years. In this case the line of movement is very clear. We have never questioned access to abortion.”
So, yes, elected RNs did oppose abortion, but it was misinterpreted. What counts would not be the opinions of the deputies, but the line of the movement. And this line is clear: they have never questioned access to abortion. Not the right, but even more broadly: access. So is it true? This is what Marine Le Pen said, in March 2012, on franceinfo: “Comfort abortion, which is a term that has scandalized everyone, which is nevertheless a term used by doctors, seems to be multiplying. There was one woman in 10 10 years ago, there are two in 10 today who use abortion as a genuine means of contraception. There are abuses today. Reimbursing abuses even though a third of the French population cannot treat themselves properly because we do not stop refunding, I think that at some point, you have to say stop.”
Marine Le Pen wanted to de-reimburse the “abuse “them “comfort abortions“, that is to say: questioning not the right, but access to abortion. So, if contrary to what she says, a party has indeed sought to question the law on abortion: his The proposal to include it in the Constitution is therefore totally topical, and we understand better why his group is having a hard time positioning itself.
Nevertheless in the dodging strategy. After denial and interpretation, there still remains relativization. When we can no longer sayit’s not true” neither “it’s not really that”there is still the last refuge: “It’s not really serious”. “Realityconcludes Marine Le Pen, it is that En Marche is carrying out a political diversion because it does not want the focus to be on the main concerns of the French today and their difficulties which are purchasing power, security, uncontrolled immigration.
So, yes, the National Rally is having a hard time taking a position on abortion. But that wouldn’t be the worst! The most serious thing would be that the government would try to distract from the real problems, which it would be unable to solve. So is it convincing? Maybe everyone will have their own opinion. On the other hand, one thing is certain: on the question of the right to abortion, Marine Le Pen continues to dodge. With regard to a fundamental right which is currently being called into question on the other side of the Atlantic, and of a party which has, in the Assembly, the first opposition group… it is an ambiguity which , I believe, says a lot.