The Manifesto of the 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 Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

was illegal in France, and by admitting publicly to having aborted, they exposed themselves to criminal prosecution. On 5 April 1971, in issue 334 of ''

Le Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

'', a social democratic French weekly magazine, the manifesto, "Un appel de 343 femmes" (an appeal by 343 women), was published, as the sole topic on the magazine cover. The manifesto called for the legalization of abortion and free access to contraception. It paved the way to the adoption, in December 1974 and January 1975, of the "Veil law", named for Health Minister

Simone Veil Simone Veil (; ; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate and politician who served as Health Minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman to hold that office. ...

, that repealed the penalty for voluntarily terminating a pregnancy during the first ten weeks (later extended to fourteen weeks).

The text

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

Response

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?" ("Who got the 343 sluts from the abortion manifesto pregnant?"). This drawing by Cabu gave the manifesto its familiar nickname, often mistaken as the original title. For Maud Gelly,PDF
/ref> 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 Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

and legal abortion carried through by

in 1974.

Notable signatories

* Françoise Arnoul * Brigitte Auber *

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

* Colette Audry *

Tina Aumont Maria Christina "Tina" Aumont (February 14, 1946 – October 28, 2006) was an American actress. She was the daughter of French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont and Dominican actress Maria Montez. She made her acting debut in the British film ''Modesty Bl ...

Hélène de Beauvoir Henriette-Hélène de Beauvoir (6 June 1910 – 1 July 2001) was a French painter. She was the younger sister of philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Her art was exhibited in Europe, Japan, and the US. She married Lionel de Roulet. When Hélène de ...

* Simone de Beauvoir * * * *

Loleh Bellon Marie Laure Viole Bellon, generally known as Loleh Bellon, (1925–1999) was a French stage and film actress as well as a playwright. In 1949, for her role in Robert Desnos' ''La Place de l'Étoile'', she was awarded the ''Prix des Jeunes comédie ...

* Catherine Claude *

Iris Clert Iris Clert ( el, Ίρις Αθανασιάδη; Iris Athanasiadi; 1917 – 1986) was a Greek-born art gallery owner and curator. She owned the Galerie Iris Clert in Paris from 1955 to 1971. During its tenure, her gallery became an avant-garde hot ...

Geneviève Cluny Geneviève Cluny (born 18 April 1928) is a former French film actress. She appeared in both French New Wave films as well as popular mainstream commercial productions during the 1950s and 1960s. She is credited for the basic idea on which Jean- ...

* Lila De Nobili * Lise Deharme * Christine Delphy *

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

* Dominique Desanti *

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...

Françoise d'Eaubonne Françoise d'Eaubonne (12 March 1920 – 3 August 2005) was a French author, labour rights activist, environmentalist, and feminist. Her 1974 book, ''Le Féminisme ou la Mort'', introduced the term ecofeminism. She co-founded the Front homosexu ...

* Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre * Françoise Fabian *

Annie Fargue Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

Brigitte Fontaine Brigitte Fontaine, (born 24 June 1939) is a singer of avant-garde music. She has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry, and world. She has collaborated with Stereolab, Mic ...

* Antoinette Fouque * Claude Génia * Gisèle Halimi * Catherine Joly * Olga Kosakiewicz * Bernadette Lafont *

Danièle Lebrun Danièle Lebrun (born 24 July 1937) is a French actress. Theater Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebrun, Daniele 1937 births Living people French film actresses French stage actresses People from Ardèche 2 ...

Violette Leduc Violette Leduc (7 April 1907 – 28 May 1972) was a French writer. Early life and education She was born in Arras, Pas de Calais, France, on 7 April 1907. She was the illegitimate daughter of a servant girl, Berthe Leduc, and André Debaralle ...

* Marceline Loridan-Ivens * Françoise Lugagne *

Judith Magre Judith Magre (born 20 November 1926) is a French actress, born in Montier-en-Der, Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture i ...

Geneviève Mnich Geneviève Mnich (born 19 February 1942), is a French actress. She has appeared in 80 films since 1972. She was born in Cuffies, Aisne, France. Selected filmography * ''Joséphine, ange gardien'' (2006) (1 Episode : "La Couleur de l'amour") * ...

Ariane Mnouchkine Ariane Mnouchkine (; born 3 March 1939) is a French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble ''Théâtre du Soleil'' in 1964. She wrote and directed ''1789'' (1974) and ''Molière'' (1978), and directed ''La Nuit Mirac ...

Claudine Monteil Claudine Monteil (born 1949) is a French writer, women's rights specialist, historian, and a former French diplomat. Biography Monteil's mother, Josiane Serre, was a chemist who became the director of the Ecole Normale Superieure de Jeunes Filles. ...

* Jeanne Moreau *

Michèle Moretti Michèle Moretti (born 15 March 1940 in Paris, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Amer ...

* Liane Mozère *

Bulle Ogier Bulle Ogier (born Marie-France Thielland; 9 August 1939) is a French actress and screenwriter. She adopted the professional surname Ogier, which was her mother's maiden name. Her first appearance on screen was in ''Voilà l'Ordre'', a short film ...

* Marie Pillet ( Julie Delpy's mother) *

Marie-France Pisier Marie-France Pisier (10 May 194424 April 2011) was a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave and twice earned the national César Award for Best Supporting Actress. Early life Pisier was ...

Micheline Presle Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922) is a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting in 1939, she starred in over 50 French and English language films that were made in H ...

* Marthe Robert * Christiane Rochefort * Yvette Roudy *

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois chara ...

* Delphine Seyrig * Alexandra Stewart * Gaby Sylvia *

Nadine Trintignant Nadine Trintignant (née Marquand; born 11 November 1934) is a French film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, and novelist. She is known for making films that surround the topic of family and relationships, such as '' Ça n'arrive qu'aux a ...

* Irène Tunc * Agnès Varda * Ursula Vian-Kübler *

Marina Vlady Marina Vlady (born 10 May 1938) is a French actress. Biography Vlady was born in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine to White Russian immigrant parents. Her father was an opera singer and her mother was a dancer. Her sisters, now all deceased, were the ac ...

Anne Wiazemsky Anne Wiazemsky (14 May 1947 – 5 October 2017) was a French actress and novelist. She made her cinema debut at the age of 18, playing Marie, the lead character in Robert Bresson's ''Au Hasard Balthazar'' (1966), and went on to appear in several ...

* Monique Wittig * Anne Zelensky

Legacy

It was the inspiration for a February 3, 1973, manifesto by 331 French 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 ...

References

{{reflist

External links

* Charlie Hebdo
Rétrospective - Le manifeste des 343 salopes
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Feminism in France Abortion in France Political manifestos 1971 in politics 1971 in France 1971 documents 1971 in women's history