The French National Assembly approved a radical pro-abortion amendment this month that would allow unborn babies to be aborted at any point in pregnancy.
The Christian Institute reports the amendment basically would legalize abortion on demand up to birth by allowing abortions for “psycho-social distress” without restriction.
Currently, abortions are legal for any reason up to 12 weeks of pregnancy in France. According to the report, about 220,000 unborn babies are aborted in the country every year.
The pro-life organization Alliance VITA denounced the pro-abortion amendment, noting that it was debated in the middle of the night when much of the public was asleep.
“It would obviate existing abortion laws, by attaching the unverifiable criterion of ‘psycho-social distress,’” the organization said in a statement. “If the bill is passed into law, it would allow ‘medical abortions’ to be performed up until full-term pregnancy.”
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The pro-abortion amendment passed the National Assembly with just a small number of votes. According to the Christian Institute, the assembly has 577 members, but only 101 voted: 60 in favor and 37 against. The legislation is now headed to the French Senate for consideration.
Pro-life leaders with Alliance VITA said pregnant women deserve “society’s full and undivided” support, but killing an unborn baby in an abortion is not a solution. Along with destroying an unborn baby’s life, an abortion can increase physical and psychological risks to the mother’s life and health, they said.
Alliance VITA urged lawmakers to withdraw the “deceitful” pro-abortion amendment. It also encouraged the government to conduct a study to analyze the causes, conditions and consequences of abortions in the past 20 years.
