French president accused of making U-turn on gay fertility rights

French President Francois Hollande has been accused of dropping plans to allow same-sex couples access to fertility treatment.

According to the Daily Mail, the policy has been shelved.

Gay rights campaigners have said that fertility treatment for gay couples should be included as part of the country’s equal marriage legislation, although Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault believes the issue should be addressed at a later stage.

In September, Judith Silderfeld, editor of LGBT magazine Yagg, told France 24 that her readers were “incensed” by the apparent change in direction on fertility provision.

At the end of last week, Prime Minister Ayrault confirmed that France’s equal marriage bill would also now take longer to proceed through parliament.

“Parliament will take its time,” Interior Minister Manuel Valls said on Saturday. “Nobody doubts [the reform] will become law, but all opinions – political, philosophical or religious – will be heard.”

Senior Socialists including National Assembly speaker Claude Bartelone, parliamentary leader Bruno Le Roux and Harlem Desir, the party’s new first secretary, want to amend the draft bill to include a clause granting gay couples the right to assisted procreation.

Inter-LGBT, a group pressing for full equality on all issues of sexual orientation, has accused President Francois Hollande of backtracking on his election promise.

“The symbolism is strong but they’re stopping halfway,” said spokesman Nicolas Gougain.

“We thought we would get everything from a left-wing government,” said a disappointed civil servant at a debate on gay parenting in the western city of Nantes. “There are still many fights to be fought.”

• Dec 31 2024

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