Law of 29 December 2025 Recognizing the Harm Suffered by Persons Convicted Under Legislation Criminalizing Abortion and by All Women Before the Veil Law of 17 January 1975

This French law formally recognizes the injustice and harm suffered by the more than 11,660 people who were convicted between 1870 and 1975 under legislation that criminalized abortion. These individuals include both women who underwent abortions and those who assisted or performed them. The law is a posthumous rehabilitation measure aimed at restoring the dignity of those condemned under a legal framework now considered unjust. The legislation also extends its recognition to all women who lived under the restrictive abortion laws prior to the landmark Veil Law (Loi n° 75-17) of 17 January 1975, which decriminalized voluntary termination of pregnancy in France. By acknowledging the broader societal harm inflicted on women denied bodily autonomy, the law situates individual convictions within a larger historical context of gender-based legal oppression. The law does not provide financial reparations but serves as a symbolic and legal act of national recognition and moral rehabilitation. It reflects France's commitment to confronting painful chapters of its legal history and affirming the fundamental rights of women, in line with the constitutional enshrinement of the right to abortion passed in 2024.

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