France has passed a sweeping gender equality law that eases current restrictions on abortion, allowing women to get the procedure during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy without any need to cite a reason.  Prior to this, women could only get an abortion only if they could prove they’re in “emotional distress.”

“Ensuring a woman’s right to control her fertility is fundamental to achieving gender equality,” said Lilian Sepulveda, director of the Global Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights.  “We now look to French policymakers to ensure women see the benefits of this historic law implemented this year.”

The law says the full cost of the abortion will be financed by the government healthcare program.  But it hardly encourages abortion.  France’s holistic approach to reproductive health care means that the country ensures women can afford to raise a child.  That’s a sharp contrast to its European neighbor Spain, whose conservative government is currently attempting to roll back abortion rights altogether and criminalize the procedure almost entirely, while social service cuts chip away at families’ ability to raise their own children..

And the law goes way beyond reproductive rights.  It also:  Supports victims of domestic abuse; Improves women’s wages;  Encourages paternal leave and a more equal division of childcare; Increases female representation in politics; And limits stereotypical images of women in the media.