Hundreds rally in the streets of Paris to support world abortion rights

France is the first country with a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy PARIS — Hundreds of people came out in Paris on Saturday, marching in support of the right to abortion for women across the world, just six months after France became the first country to guarantee in its constitution a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy. The protest, organized by civil society groups to mark International Safe Abortion Day, also called for greater and easier access to abortion in France, denouncing budget cuts, staff reductions and the closure of abortion centers and maternity wards, which organizers say all contribute to penalizing women. Sarah Durocher, president of France’s not-for-profit family planning services, said French women sometimes have to travel to another region to access the medical services needed to abort, denouncing the “obstacle course” they sometimes face. “There’s a mood in France, a particular context with the Mazan trial,” he said, referring to the name of the small Provence town where the couple had bought their retirement home, and where the repeated rapes occurred. “In fact it is something broader, generalized.” Earlier this year, France became the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy, when lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. Still, many in the protest Saturday said the right to abort could never be taken for granted, especially at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence, in France and other European countries. I don’t see why there would be a French exception,” said Durocher, stressing that every nine minutes, a woman dies somewhere in the world for not having been able to access safe abortion.. “So obviously these rights are threatened.” Also in the march on Saturday was a small organization representing Colombian women in Paris, carrying a large purple banner with a feminist sign. But we know that when we exert pressure in France or in Latin America, we also help all women to say, ‘We are not alone,'” said 49 year-old Talula Rodríguez. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hundreds-rally-streets-paris-support-world-abortion-rights-114317883