Marine Le Pen on abortion: the art of dodging

Marine Le Pen on abortion: the art of dodging

by

Shame: it is a nice euphemism to evoke the convolutions of the spokespersons of the National Group on this issue of the right to abortion and its inclusion in the Constitution, since they refuse to vote on the text… without explicitly taking a position against voluntary abortion of pregnancy. A paradoxical position that Marine Le Pen tried to clarify, on Wednesday June 29 on franceinfo. “The right of access to abortion is not questioned by anyone, says Marine LePen. Personally, I am willing that because another country challenges it, it should be written in our Constitution, but are we going to write in our Constitution that we don’t have the right to stone women because in Afghanistan they have the right to do so?

There is much to be said for this argument. Already, putting the United States, which is a liberal democracy, and Afghanistan, which is an authoritarian theocracy, on the same plane, is of course totally fallacious. The two situations are incomparable. But, above all, the core of the position defended by Marine Le Pen would be that “no one” does not want to question the right to abortion in France. This is the first of the avoidance strategies: denial. Is it founded in fact? Answer: No. Among the deputies of the National Rally, we find in particular Christophe Bentz, Caroline Parmentier and Hervé de Lépiau, who compared abortion to genocide. As for Laure Lavalette, deputy and spokesperson for Rassemblement national, in 2014 she signed the public letter of the association “Choisir la vie”, in which she promised to fight to repeal, in the long term, the law on abortion.

Therefore, Marine Le Pen is caught in the act of lying but it does not matter. When denial fails, another strategy remains: interpretation. we say more “it isn’t true”but… “it’s not really that”. There is a political movementcontinues Marine Le Pen. This political movement determines a political line that is voted by the members. I have been using it for 10 years. In this case the line of movement is very clear. We have never questioned access to abortion.”

So yes, elected RNs opposed abortion, but it was misunderstood. What counts would not be the opinions of the deputies, but the line of the movement. And this line is clear: they have never questioned access to abortion. Not the right, but even more broadly: access. So is it true? This is what Marine Le Pen had to say, in March 2012, on franceinfo: “Comfort abortion, which is a term that has shocked everyone, which is nevertheless a term used by doctors, seems to be multiplying. There was one woman in 10 10 years ago, there are two in 10 today who use abortion as a genuine means of contraception. There are abuses today. Reimbursement of abuse despite the fact that a third of the French population cannot be treated properly because we do not stop reimbursing, I think that at some point, you have to say stop.”

Marine Le Pen wanted to shell out the “abuse “to them “comfort abortions“, that is to say: to question not the right, but the access to abortion. So, if contrary to what she says, yes a party has tried to question the law on abortion: its proposal to include it in the Constitution is, then, completely topical, and we better understand why it is difficult for her group to position itself.

However, in the dodge strategy. After the negation and the interpretation, there is still the relativization. When we can no longer sayit isn’t true” neither “it’s not really that”the last refuge remains: “It’s not really serious.” “Realityconcludes Marine Le Pen, is that En Marche is making a political diversion because it does not want the focus to be on the main concerns of the French today and their difficulties, which are purchasing power, security, uncontrolled immigration.

So, yes, the National Association is having a hard time positioning itself against abortion. But that wouldn’t be the worst! The most serious thing would be for the government to try to distract attention from the real problems, which it would be incapable of solving. So is it convincing? Perhaps everyone will have their own opinion. On the other hand, one thing is certain: on the issue of abortion rights, Marine Le Pen continues to dodge. Regarding a fundamental right that is currently being questioned on the other side of the Atlantic, and of a party that has the first opposition group in the Assembly… it is an ambiguity that, I think, says a lot.

Leave a Comment