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  Life   Relationship  13 Sep 2017  France bill for legalising assisted reproduction for gay women could be passed in 2018

France bill for legalising assisted reproduction for gay women could be passed in 2018

REUTERS
Published : Sep 13, 2017, 8:26 am IST
Updated : Sep 13, 2017, 8:26 am IST

Major move for gay rights in France, where protests preceded legalization of same-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples in 2013.

Current legislation means that gay women with sufficient funds travel abroad for artificial insemination (Photo: Pixabay)
 Current legislation means that gay women with sufficient funds travel abroad for artificial insemination (Photo: Pixabay)

Paris: The right of lesbian couples and single women to have access to assisted reproduction was “a matter of social justice” and will likely be legislated next year, a French government minister said on Tuesday.

The move would mark a significant extension of gay rights in France, where violent protests preceded the legalization of same-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples in 2013.

“It was a campaign promise. It will be honoured,” Marlene Schiappa, minister for gender equality, told BFM TV. She said a bill would likely pass through parliament in 2018.

Current legislation means that gay women with sufficient funds travel abroad for artificial insemination while other women without the financial means cannot. Schiappa said that was unjust.

French law still restricts techniques such as artificial insemination using donated sperm to heterosexual couples.

A national ethics committee said last June that it backed the idea of medically assisted procreation for female couples and single women. Macron, president since May, had set such a recommendation as a prerequisite to any legislative action.

Tags: gay women, adoption, homosexual couple, assisted reproduction, france, gay rights