The vote in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, marks only the first step on the path to enshrining the right to abortion in the constitution.>> On the rocky road to enshrining abortion rights in the French constitutionOn Thursday, MPs from the left-wing party La France insoumise (France Unbowed) party and the ruling centrist coalition struck a deal on the wording of the new clause, which passed with a huge majority."The assembly is speaking to the world, our country is speaking to the world," said jubilant left-wing lawmaker Mathilde Panot, dedicating the vote to women in Hungary, Poland and the United States.Panot, who spearheaded the legislation along with a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party, said the move was necessary in France to protect "against a regression".Legal for 48 yearsWomen have had a legal right to abortion in France since a law adopted in 1974, and updated several times since, with the latest modification in February extending access to abortion to 14 weeks of pregnancy from 12."