France be­comes world's first coun­try to en­shrine abor­tion in con­sti­tu­tion

France has become the first country in the world to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution. On Monday, French lawmakers voted in favor of this measure with a significant majority of 780 votes to 72. The bill was promised by President Emmanuel Macron following the rollback of abortion rights in the United States and other countries. Abortion is widely supported in France across most of the political spectrum, with around 80% of French people backing its legality. Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law. The approval of this constitutional amendment was celebrated by women's rights activists and supporters across the country. Anti-abortion campaigners criticized the result, with one calling it a "defeat for all the children who cannot see the day." France is now the only country in the world to explicitly protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its basic legal articles.