Legalizing surrogacy in France
As French bioethical laws make a comeback in the legislative agenda, GenerationLibre aims to broaden the debate by suggesting legalizing surrogacy in France.
Surrogacy is a controversial topic, whichever political side you are on. Reification of the child, exploitation and commodification of woman’s body, modern slavery: the topic of surrogacy faces many fears and is very often misunderstood.
However, more than half of French people are in favour of legalising surrogacy for heterosexual and homosexual couples (Ifop survey, 2018). Seen as a medical progress giving to all the opportunity to have a child, surrogacy highlights a form of kinship based on commitment. The logic is similar to abortion rights, behind which lies the core idea that women should have the right to freely dispose of their body.
In this report, GenerationLibre pleads for the legalisation of surrogacy in France and suggests a legal frame guaranteeing rights and duties for all those involved in this process.
Drawing from the failure of the French prohibition policy and from legislative models applied in other countries, the report details what we believe to be a fair and effective legislation of surrogacy. Regulations will thus protect the child, the surrogate mother and the parents from any kind of abuse.
Legalising surrogacy is a matter of fundamental right. It intends to extend women’s right to make a free and voluntary use of their body. It also guarantees that children born from surrogacy abroad will benefit from the same rights than the others here in France. Finally, it recognises the emergence of new, different models of family and of a new form of kinship, based on commitment.
