Of the “10 golden heroines of French history” to whom tribute was paid during the Olympics opening ceremony, all of the heroines born in the 20th century played a pivotal role in making abortion legal in France.
During the Olympics opening ceremony last week, the organisers chose to highlight and celebrate “10 golden heroines” by having statues of them emerge from the Seine as the national anthem was sung. Among the women represented by these statues were politician Gisèle Halimi, and feminists Simone de Beauvoir and Simone Veil. These three were the only ones born in the 20th century and each was a staunch advocate for abortion during their own lifetime.
The stated aim of Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, was to depict “the very best France has to offer”.
Prior to the legalisation of abortion in France in 1975, each of these three “heroines” helped pave the way for a change in the law through their advocacy and the role they played in the infamous “manifeste des 343”, Manifesto of the 343.
How did de Beauvoir, Halimi and Veil help to make abortion legal in France?
In a manifesto written and signed by Simone de Beauvoir and published on 5 April 1971 on the front page of the magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, 343 women claimed to have had an abortion. Gisèle Halimi, one of the other “golden heroines”, also signed this manifesto.
The high profile nature of this stunt allowed Halimi to push for the legalisation of abortion in the courts in France in 1972 and ultimately set the stage for the Minister for Health, Simone Veil, who introduced a bill to permit abortion. This bill was passed in 1975 making abortion legal. Veil was seen as so significant in the passing of this law, that it became known as ‘la loi Veil’, the Veil Act.
The French existentialist philosopher and writer, Simone de Beauvoir, also co-founded the pro-abortion organisation, “Choisir” in 1971 with Gisèle Halimi. One of the main goals of the organisation was to repeal the existing abortion law which provided protection for unborn children and to remove existing deterrents against abortion.
De Beauvoir was among the signatories of a petition calling for French law to “acknowledge the right of children and adolescents to have relations with whomever they choose”.
There are currently over 200,000 abortions in France every year, with a total of 234,253 in 2022.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “During an already highly controversial opening ceremony, it is shocking and saddening in equal measure that the artistic director, Thomas Jolly, chose to glorify three women who played such a pivotal role in introducing a law which has led to such a great loss of life in France”.
“Surely half a century of lives lost to abortion is not ‘the very best France has to offer. Much better would have been to celebrate Article 16 of the French Civil Code: ‘The law ensures the primacy of the person, prohibits any attack on the dignity of the person and guarantees respect for the human being from the beginning of his life’.”.
