Conception narratives and third party reproduction in lesbian‐parented families in France

Abstract

has been reserved uniquely for heterosexual couples suffering from infertility since the adoption of bioethics laws in July 1994. 1 This means that single women and female couples have to go abroad to Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands or to Denmark in order to gain access to either artificial insemination from sperm donation (AID), or in vitro fertilisation (IVF). After fierce debate, a law passed on 17 May 2013 authorised same-sex marriage in France. Child adoption having previously been granted only to married couples and single people, the right to marry as a same-sex couple opened up the possibility of child adoption and intra-marital adoption (the adoption of a spouse's child). These are currently the only ways in which a child can have two mothers or two fathers in France. The new law of May 2013 did not permit female couples to use MAP. Bioethics laws are due for revision and a debate is currently in progress concerning access to MAP for all women, whether they form a heterosexual couple, a homosexual couple or are single. The same objections apparent in the "marriage for everyone" debate have been aired, notably through the movement "Manif pour tous" 2 (protest for all) which opposes access to MAP for all women, arguing that children would suffer from "PMA sans père" (MAP without a father).

“I’m Not Just the Nonbiological Parent”: Encountering, Strategizing, and Resisting Asymmetry and Invalidation in Genetic/ Gestational Parent Status Among LGBTQ Parents

“…Referents and address terms (what a child calls each parent) may also communicate and construct a socially intelligible parental identity for the nonbiological mother (Bergen et al, 2006; Frank et al, 2019). Research indicates that two thirds to three quarters of lesbian couples employ parallel or symmetrical names (e.g., Mommy/Mama), which help to establish the nonbiological mother’s parental identity for herself, her child, and society (Bergen et al, 2006; Gross & Richardot, 2019).…”