France expands access to abortion

The French state will reimburse 100 percent of the cost of abortions beginning 1 April, while girls aged between 15 and 18 will be offered access to free and anonymous birth control.

The change comes as a law approved in late 2012 comes into force.

Until now, French women over 18 could only receive up to 80 percent of the cost of the procedure, which can run up to 450 euros.

There are around 12,000 such procedures a year in France — via redwolf.newsvine.com