Hundreds rally in the streets of Paris to support world abortion rights
Hundreds of people have marched in Paris in support of the right to abortion for women across the world
PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of people came out in Paris on Saturday, marching in support of the right to abortion for women across the world, just six months after France became the first country to guarantee in its constitution a woman's right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.
The protest, organized by civil society groups to mark International Safe Abortion Day, also called for greater and easier access to abortion in France, denouncing budget cuts, staff reductions and the closure of abortion centers and maternity wards, which organizers say all contribute to penalizing women.
Sarah Durocher, president of France’s not-for-profit family planning services, said French women sometimes have to travel to another region to access the medical services needed to abort, denouncing the “obstacle course” they sometimes face.
Thibault Thomas, 28, said the ongoing trial of a man who has confessed to drugging his wife so that dozens of men could rape her while she was unconscious, was one of the reasons that motivated him to attend the protest on Saturday.
