France's lower house has voted to fully reimburse abortions and to make contraception free for minors.

The bill passed by the National Assembly on Friday would make all abortions free and would also pay for contraception for those between 15 and 18.

It will now go to the Senate, where it is likely to pass.

"Women who want to stop an unwanted pregnancy have the right to be covered. The enactment of the right to choose to halt a pregnancy is an obligatory state service,'' the bill says.

National medical insurance currently pays in full for abortions only for minors and the poor, while other women are reimbursed for up to 80 per cent of the procedure's total cost, which can be as much as $580.

Contraception is partially reimbursed.

Some groups complain that price is only one impediment to abortion access. They say too few doctors offer the procedure and there needs to be more information about who does.

Under the bill, reimbursements would not go beyond $580 and some medical service providers in France charge more than that for an abortion.

While some segments of French society oppose the right to abortion, the issue rarely makes headlines.

France is among the European countries that allow minors to have abortions without parental consent, and in 1988, was the first country to introduce RU-486, which terminates pregnancy by causing the embryo to detach from the uterine wall.