Abortion, a Condition for Gender Emancipation

Falling behind other western countries concerning the liberalization of birth control in France is explained by a natalism of State. The contraception was authorized only in 1967, under many restrictions. The May 1968 events and mainly the rising of feminism could impose an even higher liberalization, which allowed women, in 1975, to require abortion in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. The author of this article, a sociologist, participated actively in the women’s movement. Al the same time, she has chosen abortion as research subject. It is not only her trajectory, through the different liberation stages, but also the sociological and political problems she could identify, that are the main issues in this article, as well as the introduction of the main research results