Editing Simone Veil (section)

===Minister of Health, 1974–1979===
From 1974 to 1979, Veil was a [[Minister of Health (France)|Minister of Health]] in the governments of [[Prime Minister of France|prime minister]]s [[Jacques Chirac]] and [[Raymond Barre]]: from 28 May 1974 to 29 March 1977, Minister of Health; from 29 March 1977 to 3 April 1978, Minister of Health and Social Security; and from 3 April 1978 to 4 July 1979, Minister of Health and Family.

She pushed forward two notable laws. The first, passed on 4 December 1974, facilitated access to [[contraception]] such as the [[combined oral contraceptive pill]], which was legalized in 1967.

The second, passed on 17 January 1975, legalized [[abortion in France]] – this was her hardest-fought political initiative and the one for which she is best known. The abortion debate was particularly difficult for her because those in favour of keeping abortion illegal launched aggressive personal attacks against Veil and her family.<ref name="Simone Veil"/> Since the passing of the law, many have paid tribute to Veil and thanked her for her courageous and determined fight.<ref name="Simone Veil"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=20 September 2016|title=Simone Veil, French Holocaust survivor who championed women's rights|url=https://webdoc.france24.com/obituary-simone-veil-holocaust-women-abortion-france/|access-date=21 October 2020|website=FRANCE 24|language=en}}</ref>

In 1976, Veil also helped to introduce a ban on smoking in certain public places and worked on the problem of medically underserved rural areas.<ref name=lancet/>