The Senate voted 216-100 to reject legislation that would extend the legal-abortion period to 12 weeks from 10 weeks. Center-right forces voted against the extension. A definitive vote on the move is scheduled for later this month.
According to François Giraud, the law´s relator and member of the Rassemblement pour la Republique, the extension to 12 weeks would entail «a certain number of risks that cannot be disregarded,» as «two additional weeks change the nature of the surgical intervention.»
The proposal to extend the abortion period was an initiative of Socialist Martine Aubry, at the time she was Labor Minister in Lionel Jospin´s government.
