Simone Veil

Simone Veil (1927–2017) was a French magistrate and politician, Holocaust survivor, and leading advocate of abortion decriminalization. She became the first woman to preside over the European Parliament.

Antoine Veil: Antoine Veil (1926–2013) was a French civil servant and businessman, and Simone Veil’s husband. Their partnership and family life accompanied her public career.
Loi Veil: The 1975 French law that temporarily permitted voluntary termination of pregnancy under specified conditions. Veil defended this bill as health minister through fierce parliamentary opposition.
European Parliament: The directly elected legislative institution of the European Union. Veil became its first female president in 1979, after the first direct elections.
Auschwitz concentration camp: The Nazi German concentration and extermination camp complex operated in occupied Poland during World War II. Veil was deported there as a teenager and survived the camp system.
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing: Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (1926–2020) was president of France from 1974 to 1981. As president, he appointed Veil health minister and backed abortion-law reform.
French National Assembly: The lower house of France’s Parliament, where deputies debate and vote on legislation. Veil addressed the Assembly in November 1974 to argue for abortion-law reform.
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: An intergovernmental organization that promotes Holocaust education, research, and remembrance. Veil’s survivor testimony and public advocacy exemplified the remembrance work it promotes.
Holocaust survivors: People who survived Nazi persecution and the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Veil’s testimony and public service gave her a prominent place among French survivors.
Jacques Chirac: Jacques Chirac (1932–2019) was a French politician who served as president and prime minister. He appointed Veil minister of state in his 1993 government.
Abortion in France: The history, law, and practice of abortion in France. The reform Veil championed changed the legal framework governing abortion in France.

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