In Toulouse, French Family Planning Can't Keep Up

In Toulouse, French Family Planning Can't Keep Up

Abortion can be a hassle in some parts of France, despite the country's liberalizing trend. A 12-week limit, mandatory one-week waiting period and the lag in scheduling appointments all add strain.


TOULOUSE, France (WOMENSENEWS)--France has one of the most progressive provisions on abortion and access to contraception in the European Union, but women outside the capital city and those in rural areas still hit plenty of rough patches when they attempt to access the procedure. In some places it can take as long as three weeks to schedule an abortion; even longer in summer months.

In Toulouse, for example, the fourth largest city in France, where nearly 4,000 abortions are performed each year, members of the Family Planning association--which defends rights to abortion, contraception and provides sexual health education--described some obstacles.

While the mandatory waiting time period for an abortion in France after the first consultation is seven days, women can end up waiting between two and three weeks before the second and final consultation leading to the procedure. Some women wait more than a month in July and August, when doctors are on vacation.

Minors and women who do not wish to tell others about their pregnancy are the first to suffer from long waiting periods, said a staffer at the Family Planning association in Toulouse, who asked not to be named. "It becomes hard to hide a pregnancy and stay anonymous if you have to wait more than a month [for an abortion] and when you have to deal with all the medical complications and symptoms of pregnancy," she said.


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http://womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/150105/in-toulouse-french-family-planning-cant-keep