Constitutionalisation of the Right to Abortion

Enshrining the right to abortion in the constitution represented an ideal in many states that faced this issue or restrictions that led to the loss of human life. The phenomenon gained momentum in the European space after the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health (Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 2022). I mentioned the decision, by which the Court annulled the right to abortion, offering the possibility to waive this right to the national authorities. The rise of extremist religious groups in the European space made the right to abortion a controversial subject, which is why the phenomenon was left to the discretion of the national state from a decision-making perspective. However, in the EU, the European Parliament alerted in time the threats posed to the rights to abortion requesting that this right be introduced in the EU Convention of Rights (European Parliament Resolution, 2022; European Parliament Resolution, 2024). Rounding off the decision to implement the right to abortion in the constitution generated at the national level a real debate for and against, which in the European space ended with some changes such as states that have adopted this right: France (French legislative proposal no. 293, 2023), Belgium (Parl. doc. 55 2832/001 (2021-2022), Norway, and Sweden (Press release Department of Justice, 2023). Against this reaction, legal experts questioned the necessity, adequacy and added value of the constitutionalisation (Dobner M. Loughlin, 2010) of a right to abortion in European-national contexts.