Manifesto of the 343

The Manifesto of the 343 (French: Manifeste des 343), was a French petition signed by 343 women "who had the courage to say, 'I've had an abortion'". It was an act of civil disobedience, since abortion was illegal in France, and by admitting publicly to having aborted, they exposed themselves to criminal prosecution. The manifesto was published in the social democratic French weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur on April 5, 1971.[1] The manifesto called for the legalization of abortion and free access to contraception. It paved the way to the adoption, in December 1974-January 1975, of the "Veil law", named for Health Minister Simone Veil, that repealed the penalty for voluntarily terminating a pregnancy during the first ten weeks (later extended to twelve weeks).

The text

The text of the manifesto was written by Simone de Beauvoir.[1] It began (as translated into English):

One million women in France have abortions every year. Condemned to secrecy, they do so in dangerous conditions, while under medical supervision, this is one of the simplest procedures. Society is silencing these millions of women. I declare that I am one of them. I declare that I have had an abortion. Just as we demand free access to contraception, we demand the freedom to have an abortion.[2]

Impact

It was the inspiration for a February 3, 1973, manifesto by 331 doctors declaring their support for abortion rights:

We want freedom of abortion. It is entirely the woman's decision. We reject any entity that forces her to defend herself, perpetuates an atmosphere of guilt, and allows underground abortions to persist ....[3]

The week after the manifesto appeared, the front page of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo carried a drawing attacking male politicians with the question "Qui a engrossé les 343 salopes du manifeste sur l'avortement?".[4][5]("Who got the 343 sluts [bitches] from the abortion manifesto pregnant?"). This drawing by Cabu gave the manifesto its familiar nickname, often mistaken as the original title. For Maud Gelly,[6] doctor and author, "A caricature meant at ridiculing politicians left a macho insult to qualify these women, and that tells a lot about the anti-feminism sometimes dominating the rewriting of the history of women's struggles."

In 1971, the feminist group Choisir ("To Choose") was founded by Gisèle Halimi, to protect the women who had signed the Manifesto. In 1972 Choisir formed itself into a clearly reformist body, and the campaign greatly influenced the passing of the law allowing contraception and abortion carried through by Simone Veil in 1974.[7]

Notable signers

References
  1. Marie Renard (February 11, 2008). "Swans Commentary: The Unfinished Business Of Simone de Beauvoir". Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  2. "Manifesto of the 343 (translated into English), with signatures". Web.archive.org. 1971-04-05. Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-06-11.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. Michelle Zancarini-Fournel, « Histoire(s) du MLAC (1973-1975) », Clio, numéro 18-2003, Mixité et coéducation, [En ligne], mis en ligne le 04 décembre 2006. URL : http://clio.revues.org/index624.html. Consulté le 19 décembre 2008.
  4. Image of cover from Charlie Hebdo
  5. "Brief history of women's rights". SOS Femmes. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  6. Maud Gelly, "Le MLAC et la lutte pour le droit à l'avortement"(http://www.fondation-copernic.org/spip?article75)
  7. Raylene L. Ramsay (2003). French women in politics: writing power, paternal legitimization, and maternal legacies. Berghahn Books. pp. 135–139. ISBN 978-1-57181-081-6. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  8. Simone de Beauvoir and the women's movement in France: An eye-witness account Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, by Claudine Monteil
  9. In the 2007 film 2 Days in Paris, the mother, played by Marie Pillet, of a character played by Julie Delpy acknowledges herself to have been one of the "343 bitches", reflecting her action in real life.

See also
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