The French Members of Parliament have passed a law banning websites that offer information on abortion to pregnant women.
The Law extends to some websites that promote what they call “false information.” Based on a 1993 legislation that penalizes third-party “interference” in the face of “interruption of pregnancy”, originally, this law intended to prevent pro-life activists from physically blocking access to abortion clinics.
The new “digital reality”, according to Rossignol, demands an update of its content, and has stated that “Thirty years ago militants were chained to abortion clinics … today their successors continue this fight on the web.”
The law punishes this practice with up to two years in prison and a fine of €30,000.
The One of Us Federation regrets and rejects this regulation that not only supposes a direct attack on the freedom of expression, but also blocks the access to information for pregnant women.
The French legislator gives himself the full capacity to decide what kind of information women can or cannot receive. It raises itself as a kind of guide to “protect” women, who cannot discern between the information they can and cannot have, that they care about or do not care about, that they need or do not need.
The Freedom of expression is clearly curtailed in France, being the legislator who defines what content is “true” and what content is not.
The French Constitution of 1975, which legalized abortion in France, foresees that women must know the alternatives to abortion. Therefore, the new legislation approved, responds to a manipulation of the reality and the possibility of choosing maternity. A society that does not protect motherhood as the very essence of the existence of that society is bound to chaos.
One of Us wants to clearly and emphatically state that motherhood is a social benefit that must be protected, while abortion is a social problem that society and legislators must solve with a prevention policy, not with censorship or jail.
European Federation ‘One of Us’
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