In an emotional ceremony marking the enshrining of the right to an abortion in the French constitution, Emmanuel Macron said the historic change was the sealing of a long battle for “freedom, a fight made up of tears, tragedies and broken destinies”, reports The Guardian.
He said the occasion was a reminder of “the fate of generations of women deprived of the most intimate of choices: whether or not to have a child”.
“The destiny of these women, their suffering, their fear, the addresses exchanged under the cloak, of clandestine operations, of stifled cries, of impossible recoveries, of secrecy, of suspicions, of sermons, of the risk of losing everything, one’s happiness and one’s life,” he added.
“Yes, for too many years, women’s destinies were sealed by others. Their lives captured, their freedom scorned.”
The historic amendment was marked by an official sealing of the constitution using a 19th-century press that was installed outside the justice ministry in central Paris so the ceremony could be seen by the public.
There was applause among the crowd of dignitaries, politicians and celebrities as well as the public, as the justice minister, Éric Dupond-Moretti, flanked by Macron and the prime minister, Gabriel Attal, turned the 300kg manual press to stamp the amendment.
In his address, Macron said he wanted the measure inscribed in the EU charter of fundamental rights and that it should become a universal right.