"The bioethics bill draws a world not very welcoming to human beings"

Ludovine de la Rochère is president of the Manif pour tous, author of

Families, I love you

(ed. Pierre-Guillaume de Roux, 2016).

The will of the executive to push the bioethics bill forward in secret in Parliament despite the incredible crisis we are going through is doubly shocking.

Indeed, the anthropological and ethical issues represented by this text require hindsight and serenity, but also the possibility of a real democratic debate, which is not the case today.

In addition, some of the measures envisaged should be reviewed, drawing lessons from the health crisis.

On the eve of the second reading in the Senate, scheduled for February 2 to 4, the bill still provides for the opening of medically assisted procreation (MAP) to single women and female couples.

And even if it means opening it to some, without medical reason, the deputies confirmed, in second reading last summer, their desire to open it also to male-female couples without medical reason.

They also provided for its reimbursement by social security, as well as the self-preservation of gametes without medical reason, which the text aims to also authorize.

Reading this bill, one would think that doctors have no other emergencies, that our hospital system does not lack any means and that the social security deficit is not abysmal!

If they refuse to assume it, the deputies put in place

de facto

with these measures a right to the child for women, heavy consequences for all of society.

For children born to assisted reproduction, first of all, since they could be deliberately deprived of a father all their life.

For fathers, too, since this bill implicitly undermines their role, however irreplaceable, with their children.

Alas, this message sent to all fathers and to all young people will certainly not promote the empowerment of some and the respect of their father for others.

The loss of landmarks that characterizes our society, as Emmanuel Macron himself has repeatedly emphasized, will obviously be even greater.

Double maternal filiation is a fiction, which will open up others in our law of filiation.

The bill, as it stands, validates the consequences of opening up assisted reproduction to couples of women by creating a new filiation: women with a "parental project" would make a joint declaration before the conception of the child. before a notary.

This will be worth recognition of the child by the two "mothers" when establishing his birth certificate.

So here is reality and motherhood violated.

Double maternal filiation is a fiction, which will open up others in our law of filiation, such as that of allegedly having two fathers, which will open the door to surrogacy.

In addition, registering two women as “mothers” of a child tramples on the special and unique bond that exists between a mother and her child: it becomes negligible in the law, without any particular significance or meaning.

With fatherless assisted reproduction, both fatherhood and motherhood are compromised.

It should be noted in passing that opening assisted reproduction and the self-preservation of gametes without a medical reason is absolutely contrary to the ecological state of mind which the executive uses.

In the case of people who are a priori fertile, encouraging the use of technicized, complex, state-managed and costly procreation is as incomprehensible as it is unjustifiable.

Another aspect of this bill: research using the human embryo.

The text provides for establishing a legal difference between human embryos and human embryonic cells, which would justify completely liberalizing the use of these embryonic cells.

If they no longer have - allegedly - anything to do with the embryo, they no longer need authorizations or even declarations to use them as laboratory material, which the text therefore also includes.

The creation of transgenic embryos, that is to say of genetically modified human embryos, would also be legalized.

The creation of transgenic embryos, that is to say of genetically modified human embryos, would also be legalized, just like that of animal-human embryos, which are called "chimeras".

We see, once again, the radical contradiction of the executive, which appears "green", but would like our scientists to be able to touch the human genome and cross the species barrier.

As for the precautionary principle, the Executive claims that it only concerns the environment, which is incorrect: constitutionally, it also concerns human health.

On the research side, the bill also provides for authorizing the creation of gametes from reprogrammed cells (skin cells for example), which it would then be possible to fertilize.

Definitely, the “next world” could well look like the “best of all worlds”!

However, there is good news to be underlined: the abandonment of the pre-implantation diagnosis on aneuploidies: unless it is improbable to step back in the Senate next week, there is no longer any question of expanding the elimination of embryos or fetuses on the basis of their genetic heritage.

On the other hand, the deputies introduced this summer the extension of the medical termination of pregnancy (IMG), possible up to 9 months, in the event of psycho-social distress.

This vague and subjective reason would in fact make it possible to eliminate the legal deadline for abortion, following the wishes of the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, who makes no secret of his progressive and transgressive activism in societal bioethics.

This text, as we can see, outlines a world that will not be welcoming to human beings tomorrow.

This is why, with the numerous partner associations of “Marchons Enfants”, we are calling for demonstrations on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January everywhere in France for the withdrawal of this bill which is “neither organic nor ethical”.