France passes sweeping gender equality law
Source: Reuters
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - France has passed a sweeping gender equality law that eases current restrictions on abortion, encourages paternity leave and promotes gender parity at home and in the workplace.
Under the new law passed on Tuesday, women can obtain an abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy without any need to cite a reason. This amends France’s current law, passed in 1975, that gave women the legal right to terminate a pregnancy only if they were in a situation of “distress.” The new law also bans any attempt to prevent women from obtaining information about abortion services.
“At a time when women in many parts of the world, including in the United States and Spain, are seeing their rights restricted, violated, and disrespected, France has set an important example for the rest of the globe with its progressive stance toward reproductive health care,” Lilian Sepulveda, director of the Global Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
“Ensuring a woman’s right to control her fertility is fundamental to achieving gender equality. But passing today’s law is just the first step - we now look to French policymakers to ensure women see the benefits of this historic law implemented this year.”
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/06/us-france-women-idUSKBN0G61OO20140806?9
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