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On Europe 1, MP Manon Aubry said that “a third of women had to change departments to have an abortion because they cannot get an appointment”. info or intox ? Let’s take stock of access to abortion in France.
While the Assembly was in favor on Wednesday of including abortion in the Constitution, the spokesperson for the NGO Oxfam France, Manon Aubry, revealed a shocking figure. Does one in three French women really have to “change departments” to have an abortion? According to France infowho conducted the investigation on this subject, this figure is not accurate.
The right to abortion is in danger throughout Europe.
Of course it is urgent to protect it in the constitution in France and in the charter 🇪🇺 of fundamental rights.
No offense to reactors like Bellamy and Bardella who attack women’s rights in Parliament 🇪🇺. pic.twitter.com/VqDv82YHDm
— Manon Aubry (@ManonAubryFr) January 24, 2024
Management of abortions: 17.2% outside its department
According to DRESSthe statistical service of the Ministry of Health, it is not one in three women but one in six women who changed departments, in France, to have an abortion in 2022 (17.2%).
Nearly 83% of abortions carried out in mainland France take place in this way.within the department of residence of the women concerned“, specifies the report.
Among women who decide to leave their department, for some it is “a choice of confidentiality“or more”great geographical proximity” (in the case of a residence closer to the healthcare system of the neighboring department than its own). But this indicator can also reflect “difficulties of access in certain geographical areas“, warns DRESS.
Territorial inequalities persist
Thus, the gaps persist between the regions of mainland France and the DROMs, “recourse rates ranging from 11.6% in Pays de la Loire to 22.6% in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and from 21.0% in Mayotte to 48.7% in Guyana“, details the organization.
So nearly 50% of French women left Ain or Ardèche to have an abortion in 2022. But in Bas-Rhin or the Pyrénées-Orientales, less than 5% left for this act.
For obvious geographical reasons, in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Réunion or Mayotte, the share of abortions performed in the department of residence is very high (from 90.4% to 98.8%).
But for Marie-Noëlle Battistel and Cécile Muschotti, both deputies, “infrastructures do not meet the needs in certain departments, which generates territorial inequalities which are difficult to accept”, they assureyears a parliamentary report dating from 2020.
IVG, a little valued act?
Furthermore, not all doctors and midwives perform abortions, despite their qualifications, France Info further details.
“The main explanation for the difficulties in accessing abortion essentially results from disinterest in a medical procedure that is little valued and considered to be of little value”the deputies are still indignant.
Since January 2016, midwives have already been authorized to perform medical abortion. They can now, under certain conditions, practice instrumental abortion, previously reserved for doctors. This is confirmed by a decree of December 16, 2023.
Does a healthcare professional have the right to refuse to perform an abortion?
In practice, yes. No health professional (doctor or midwife) is obliged to perform an abortion, but they have the obligation to inform you and direct you to a doctor, a midwife or a structure which can take care of your asks, relates government site on abortion.
“Everyone must be informed about abortion methods and have the right to choose one freely. This information is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals within the framework of their skills and in compliance with the professional rules applicable to them.“, he explains.
Health professionals are indeed playing “an important role in guaranteeing everyone quality information and support in their journey“.