- Title: French IVF bill would 'intentionally deprive' children of fathers, opponents say
- Date: 6th October 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 6, 2019) (REUTERS) PLACARD WITH DRAWING OF TWO WOMEN HOLDING HANDS WITH A CHILD WITH DIALOGUE BOX READING (French): "WHO'S MY FATHER?" VARIOUS OF ANTI-ASSISTED PROCREATION PROTESTERS GATHERED, HOLDING FLAGS CHILDREN AT PROTEST HOLDING FLAGS PROTESTER HOLDING FRENCH FLAG PRESIDENT OF CONSERVATIVE GROUP LA MANIF POUR TOUS, LUDOVINE DE LA ROCHERE, SPEAKING TO PROTESTER NEWS BRIEFING OF GROUPS PARTICIPATING AT PROTEST IN PROGRESS JOURNALISTS LUDOVINE DE LA ROCHERE SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRESIDENT OF ANTI-ASSISTED PROCREATION AND ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE GROUP LA MANIF POUR TOUS, LUDOVINE DE LA ROCHERE, SAYING: "In the end, we were left with one last choice to be heard, to argue that children should be, of course, respected. They're are the ones who are impacted the most by medically assisted procreation. Depriving children intentionally of fathers, of course, poses a problem. And this bill - and this has been said before me - raises other questions. We have not gotten any answer, that's why we, together with around 20 other groups, have taken to the streets together today." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRESIDENT OF ANTI-ASSISTED PROCREATION AND ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE GROUP LA MANIF POUR TOUS, LUDOVINE DE LA ROCHERE, SAYING: "It could seem extraordinary for some, but children born from assisted procreation have the same rights as all children. Everyone here has a mother and a father, everyone has a father and a mother. Imagine if the French government could intentionally, deliberately deprive children of fathers. What injustice and what aberration." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (French) REPRESENTATIVE OF CONSERVATIVE GROUP JURISTES POUR L'ENFANCE, OLIVIA SARTON, SAYING: "First of all, 70 percent of all children live with their father and mother. Secondly, it's not because today, we are faced with situations that have been created that the law should institutionalise them and should give them a judicial basis. There's a fundamental difference between accommodating a situation and trying to remedy and institutionalise it." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRESIDENT OF ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC FAMILIES, PASCALE MORINIERE, SAYING: "We then have four demands to state, and we're not just denouncing (the bill). Four demands: first, a moratory for this bill; secondly, for principles of precaution to apply to human filiation and procreation; third, for launching a great campaign against infertility and to promote fertility; and last, the general abolition all over the world of surrogacy and all commercialisation of humans." PROTESTERS GATHERED
- Embargoed: 20th October 2019 12:50
- Keywords: France IVF assisted procreation protest conservative groups La Manif pour tous Paris news conference
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZYL1DZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CAN BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDIT 6114-FRANCE-REFORM/IVF-PROTESTS-PREVIEW, WHICH CONTAINS IMAGES OF SPERM BEING INJECTED INTO OOCYTE AT LABORATORY AND INTERVIEWS WITH PRO- AND ANTI-ASSISTED PROCREATION ACTIVISTS
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Paris on Sunday (October 6) to denounce a bioethics bill that would extend access to medically assisted procreation (PMA) to single women and lesbian couples in France.
Around 20 associations, many of them conservative and led by anti-gay marriage group La Manif pour tous, said the bill could "intentionally deprive" children of fathers, a situation that would prove onerous for youth.
"Imagine if the French government could intentionally, deliberately deprive children of fathers. What injustice and what aberration," La Manif pour tous President, Ludovine de la Rochere said.
Until now, lesbian couples and single women in France wishing to bear children have to seek procedures abroad, most commonly in Belgium and Spain, forcing them to spend thousands of euros, to take a leave of absence and to see a new set of doctors.
Nearly two-thirds of French people are in favour of extending the PMA. A BVA poll in late April found that 65 percent agreed to it, 10 points higher than in 2014, a year after the same-sex marriage law was passed.
The PMA is only one aspect of the wide-ranging bioethics bill, which is currently being debated in parliament and will also touch on establishing marital filiation, lifting sperm donor anonymity, egg freezing, genetic testing and research on embryonic stem cells.
A counter-protest against Manif pour tous' action is also slated to take place on Sunday.
(Production: Clotaire Achi, Manuel Ausloos, Ardee Napolitano) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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