“Removing the specific conscience clause for abortion means recognizing that discrimination must end.”

Interview For the first time in the history of the profession, a common position in favor of removing the conscience clause specific to abortion emerged at the National College of French Gynecologists and Obstetricians on July 18. Interview with Laura Berlingo, obstetrician-gynecologist at the Bluets maternity hospital in Paris and author of the book "Une sexuelle à soi," who says "no" to this conscience clause.

Interview by Pia Carron

Published on July 25, 2025 at 4:58 p.m.

Broadcast of the vote by senators and deputies on the inclusion in the Constitution of the guaranteed freedom to have an abortion, on the Human Rights Square, on March 4, 2024 in Paris. — Broadcast of the vote by senators and deputies on the inclusion in the Constitution of the guaranteed freedom to have an abortion, on the Human Rights Square, March 4, 2024 in Paris. ERIC BRONCARD/HANS LUCAS VIA AFP

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In France, one in three women has had an abortion in her lifetime. Although increasingly common, this medical procedure still has exceptional status in the eyes of the law. Since the adoption of the Veil law , voluntary termination of pregnancy (VTP) has been subject to a so-called "specific" conscience clause, according to which a doctor is never required to perform it, even if he or she is obliged to refer the patient to practitioners who can perform the procedure, in addition to the general conscience clause specific to any non-emergency medical procedure. Considering it stigmatizing for women who wish to have an abortion, the French National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF) announced on July 18 that this double conscience clause was no longer necessary.

The announcement is symbolic, but it is historic. Since 1975, every attempt to remove the specific conscience clause has sparked heated debate and ended in failure. The most recent was in 2022, with the law strengthening the right to abortion, introduced by MP Albane Gaillot, now co-director of the Family Planning Association. Fifty years later, this is the first time that a common position has emerged within the profession, the…