Protest against surrogacy and assisted procreation

More than 75,000 people demonstrated in Paris and Bordeaux last Sunday against the “deconstruction of the family”, reviving the protest movement that began last year in opposition to gay marriage, writes Tom Heneghan.

The “Demo for All” organisers focused this time on possible reforms to allow surrogate motherhood and assisted procreation for same-sex couples.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls moved to defuse the protest in advance by telling the Catholic daily La Croix that he would uphold the current ban on surrogacy in France. He said he would also consider proposing an international accord so countries that allow surrogacy do not offer that option to foreigners, and denounced surrogacy as an intolerable example of exploitation of women. Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said that after allowing gay marriage the Government would have to change adoption rules. “The Government may say it doesn’t want surrogacy, but I don’t see how they can avoid it,” he told RTL radio.