A review in the middle of summer does not prevent heated debates. Long awaited, the first speech of the Prime Minister in the hemicycle on the subject of bioethics was freshly received. Tuesday, during questions to the government, Jean Castex invited parliamentarians to preserve "the balance" of the bioethics bill adopted at first reading. He defended “a major breakthrough” while stressing the “need to appease society”. The two controversial measures added to the text in a special bioethics committee “do not have the approval of the government”, he said. Either the so-called ROPA method (the donation of oocytes within a couple of women, accused by opponents of the law of opening the way to surrogacy) and the expansion of the preimplantation diagnosis in search of chromosomal abnormalities (DPI-A). Uncomfortable on these subjects, the head of government described post-mortem PMA as "post-modern PMA" in a tasty slip. "Surrogacy remains our red line," he finally promised.
"It is clear, clean and precise"
Accused by the leader of the LR group, Damien Abad, of playing "sorcerer's apprentice with embryos" about DPI-A, a measure "particularly offensive to all families of children with Down's syndrome" , the first minister tried to defend himself. "We ask at second reading to stick as much as possible to the text voted in October 2019. It is clear, clean and precise" , he insisted.
This invitation from Jean Castex to revisit the additions to the text voted in the bioethics committee was also badly received by Guillaume Chiche, former LREM deputy who went to Écologie Démocratie Solidarité (EDS). "We are not here in a group meeting, it is the principle of the Fifth Republic that there are enrichments , he tackled. It is a mistake. We have no instructions to receive. We must feel completely free in the votes which will lead to enrichment as our debates go on ”.
The question of the majority line on bioethics arose again during tense discussions on the notion of the best interests of the child. "I no longer want to hear that we are not acting in the best interests of the child" , annoyed the co-rapporteur of the text Jean-Louis Touraine, one of the leading figures of the debates, known for his line liberal on bioethics. “You are the rapporteur for the majority. Why are you amending this text by crossing more red lines? (...) What is the coherent vision of your bioethical principles? ” , launched Thibault Bazin (LR). And ask him to explain his point of view on surrogacy (surrogacy). “I am strongly opposed to commercial surrogacy. I am perceived as a conservative by my Anglo-Saxon colleagues ” , defended the elected official. A statement that did not fail to trigger some laughter on the opposition benches.
A cocktail at the Ministry of Relations with Parliament
Monday evening already, the start of the examination of the bioethics bill at second reading in the National Assembly was marked by turmoil. At the beginning of the evening, the very weak presence of the deputies of the majority in the hemicyle ulcerated the opposition. In question, a cocktail at the ministry of relations with the parliament where parliamentarians rushed to listen to Emmanuel Macron. "To have two deputies of the majority (present in the hemicycle) , hardly more, it is absolutely disrespectful for the work of the Parliament" , carried off Pascal Brindeau (Union of democrats and independents). Reminders to the rules have multiplied to protest these absences and denounce the "carelessness" of elected LREM.
The question of organizing a formal vote on the text is also causing concern. At the conference of presidents, Annie Genevard (LR), vice-president of the National Assembly, deplored the absence of this ballot after the examination of the bill at second reading. Shocked by this "political mistake" , she proposed a solemn vote on September 14.