Veil Act

The Veil Act, formally the law of 17 January 1975 relating to the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, is a French statute that legalized abortion in France for pregnancies up to ten weeks, decriminalizing a practice that had been a criminal offense since 1920. It is named for Simone Veil, the Minister of Health who introduced and defended the bill in a National Assembly dominated by male deputies, in a debate remembered as one of the most difficult of her career, given fierce opposition from within her own conservative political camp. The National Assembly passed the bill on 29 November 1974 and it was promulgated into law on 17 January 1975, initially for a trial period of five years, during which its effects would be reviewed. The law was renewed and made permanent by a further statute passed on 31 December 1979, and abortion has remained a settled part of French law since, with France later becoming, in March 2024, the first country to enshrine a constitutional right to abortion.