French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Monday to enshrine abortion rights in the country’s constitution, making France the first country in the world to do so.
The vote, which took place during a special session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles, was 780-72 in favor of the amendment. The three-fifths majority was required to amend the French constitution.
The amendment states that there is a “guaranteed freedom” to abortion in France. Some groups and lawmakers had called for stronger language explicitly naming abortion as a “right.”
Lawmakers hailed the move as a historic moment for France and a way to send a clear message of support for reproductive rights, as abortion access is under threat in the United States and in parts of Europe, such as Hungary, where far-right parties have come to power.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said before the vote that lawmakers had a “moral debt” to women who were forced to undergo illegal abortions in the past.
“Above all, we are sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the government would hold an official ceremony to celebrate the amendment’s passage on Friday, which is International Women’s Day.
France first legalized abortion in 1975, after a campaign led by then-Health Minister Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor who went on to become one of the country’s most iconic feminist figures.
While abortion is a highly divisive issue in American politics and often falls along partisan lines, it enjoys broad support in France. Many of the lawmakers who voted against the amendment did so not because they oppose abortion, but because they felt the measure was unnecessary, given the widespread support for reproductive rights.
