In France, a law was passed to allow lesbian couples and single women to get fertility treatment, which are currently only reserved for heterosexual couples.
With the new law:
- the French health service will provide, and cover all costs related to access to various fertility procedures, notably in vitro fertilization (IVF) and artificial insemination for all women under 43;
- both the birth mother and her partner will be named as the child’s parents on the birth certificate.; and
- children conceived with donor sperm will be able to learn the donor’s identity when they become adults, removing the current law imposing anonymity of donors.
According to l’Assurance-maladie, France’s national health insurance body, there were 25,120 babies conceived through medically-assisted procreation (MAP) in the country in 2018, totaling 3.3% of all births there at that time.
The new law brings France in line with 10 other European Union countries (Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden). There is also the same legal provision in the United Kingdom, as well as in Iceland and Norway.
