Freedom to terminate pregnancy as part of the constitutional standard of public policy in France – amendment to the Constitution of the Fifth Republic in 2024 from the perspective of constitutionalisation of politics
Abstract
The article deals with the amendment to the constitution of the Fifth French Republic, which included guarantees of the free possibility of terminating pregnancy. The modification was adopted in 2024 at the initiative of the presidential camp supporting Emmanuel Macron, although numerous parliamentary initiatives had been submitted in previous years. The broader political and social context of the amendment was taken into account. The author hypothesizes that the adoption of this constitutional act can be regarded as a form of the so-called constitutionalization of politics, which is treated here as narrowing the range of possible alternatives in the area of a specific public policy due to the specific wording of the newly added constitutional provisions. Attention is also drawn to the fact that such constitutionalization had its limits, because it did not result in the direct adoption of a new subjective right.
Keywords:
French Fifth Republic, 2024 amendment, termination of pregnancy, ‘right to abortion’, constitutionalisation of politics, normative petrification, restrictions on legislative freedom, political and social divisionsReferences
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Uniwersytet Jagielloński https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6219-8161
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