On Monday 4 March, French parliamentarians approved, with 780 votes in favor (and 72 against), the inclusion of voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in the Constitution. A historic vote, which marks the completion of long-term work by senators and deputies committed to guaranteeing women the freedom to control their own bodies.
If this constitutional reform is far from perfect, it is also the reflection of a formidable social evolution in favor of women’s rights, which began in the 1970s thanks to the work of feminist activists, who fought to guarantee women a safe and legal.
Even before the adoption of the Veil law on November 29, 1974, hundreds across France were fighting for abortion rights and performing illegal abortions, including Annie Chemla. Activist of the MLF (Women’s Liberation Movement) and the Mlac (Movement for the Liberation of Abortion and Contraception), she contributed to revolutionizing the practice of abortion in France, supporting women who wish to abort, then performing instrumental abortions herself , by aspiration.
In his essay We made it. History of feminist liberation (edited by du Détour), Annie Chemla restores her diary as an MLAC activist, which she kept between September 1973 and June 1980, and where she recounts the fight for the legalization of abortion in France.
“Women continue to have abortions, but with enormous risks to their health”
For to missAnnie Chemla recalls:
“In 1973, for the first time in my life, I was living alone in Paris and a neighbor took me to an MLF awareness group. And I discovered the brotherhood. »
Annie Chemla
Initially an MLF activist, Annie Chemla later joined Mlac, where she became “intermediate” : its mission is therefore to accompany and support women who have abortions.
If Annie Chemla started fighting for abortion rights, it was because it seemed that way to her “it is unthinkable that women do not have the right to choose their motherhood, but also everything that concerns their body”. IVG was then illegal in France, which created legal risks for women who wanted to terminate their pregnancies, but also for those who performed these abortions.
“Women continue to have abortions, at all times and in all places, but with enormous risks to their health”recalls Annie Chemla, who evokes the “instruments” used during these clandestine abortions: probes, hangers, knitting needles.
“The women then went to hospital, where they were given what is called curettage: a metal spoon was inserted to empty the uterus. And at the time, because it was illegal and the hospital doctors were very hostile, they were being aborted without anesthesia, which was an extremely dangerous procedure. And what’s more, they risked, with or without anesthesia, remaining sterile. Many women in France at the time died from this. There was talk of 300 deaths per year. Maybe it’s more, maybe it’s less, we’ll never know. »
Annie Chemla
It was to prevent women from risking their lives or fertility that activist doctors, united in the Health Information Group, began performing illegal abortions in hospitals. “They were committing to performing abortions by saying so publicly. Furthermore, they had just imported a non-traumatic abortion method into France: the aspiration method. »
Spurred by a social movement that no longer wanted to see women die for wanting to end an unwanted pregnancy, the Veil Law, which decriminalized abortion, was enacted for a five-year period on January 17, 1975. But the fight to Women’s rights to control their own bodies were not over yet, recalls Annie Chemla.
“The Velo law was an absolutely insufficient law for us,” explains the activist. We asked for free and free abortions. And they were neither. Abortions were not covered by social security, cost half the minimum wage, and were prohibited for minors and foreigners. And then there were a whole series of obstacles: talks with a psychologist, a waiting period… The procedure itself was still widely rejected by the medical profession. But furthermore, the aspiration method had been imported by the MLAC doctors and only the MLAC doctors knew how to practice it. Even today it is not taught in medical schools. »
Annie Chemla
It is in this context, after the passing of the Veil Law, that Annie Chemla trained to perform these aspiration abortions herself.
“It gave me an intense feeling of power, of taking power over a universe that eluded us: our bodies. Seeing the cervix, a part of ourselves that we never see, but that gynecologists see, that doctors see, is still incredible! I inserted the spiral almost alone, obviously helped by friends in my group. »
Annie Chemla
Read also: The inclusion of abortion in the Constitution: real progress or symbolic measure?
A right still under threat in France
Today, despite the adoption of the Veil law almost fifty years ago and the very recent constitutionalisation of abortion, it is still not easy to resort to abortion in France, notes Annie Chemla.
“For doctors, abortion is not a gratifying act. Doctors are poorly paid when they perform instrumental abortions. It is not a technically complicated act, the proof is that I was able to practice it with my friends without any accident. You don’t write a scientific article to say “I performed abortions”.
And the medical profession is always hostile to letting patients decide for themselves. The former activist doctors are all retired, so there are very few doctors who want to perform instrumental abortions. »
Annie Chemla
Added to this problem is obviously the profound crisis that French public hospitals are going through. “If there is a lack of nurses in hospital wards, they are obviously lacking in abortion centers. If we close the maternity wards, we will also close the centers connected to them. »
This is why, insists Annie Chemla, we must remain vigilant and not abandon the fight for the freedom to dispose of our bodies:
“Young women think that abortion is a given, so they do it without worrying, even though it is still very complicated. I even think that if President Macron increased the time limit for abortion from 12 to 14 weeks, he is aware of these problems. Often, when women want an abortion, it takes them weeks to find a solution. »
Annie Chemla
“Conquered right” but not acquired, the right to abortion therefore requires constant vigilance so as not to be taken away. And the inclusion in the Constitution of the art “guaranteed freedom” The fact that women resort to abortion doesn’t actually change much, warns Annie Chemla:
“Today abortion is still under threat. A few years ago, in front of the Tenon hospital, there were Catholic fundamentalists who knelt in front of the abortion center and prevented entry to women who came for abortions, calling them murderers. »
Annie Chemla
And remember that only a few weeks ago, the CNews channel, belonging to the far-right billionaire Vincent Bolloré, classified abortions as “leading cause of death in the world”…
“It is scandalous that this lie can still be told today”, outrages Annie Chemla, who also reminds us that this reactionary danger threatens other countries in the world, such as the United States, where the Supreme Court has revoked the Roe v. two years ago. Wade guarantees the right to abortion.
Fortunately, the new generation of activists is ready to take over:
“I am extremely proud of young feminists. We experienced a sort of blank moment in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, in which I was wondering how to pass the baton. In the end we didn’t need to turn it on, they turned it back on themselves. I am also very sensitive to the fact that today’s feminists take into account the entire relationship with the body, with sexuality, with trans identities, the WAP… Everything that ultimately concerns freedom of choice. »
Annie Chemla
We made it. History of feminist liberation by Annie Chemla, ed. du Détour, 184 pages.
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Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
