[Press Release] Parliament’s Report on Bioethics: Tumultuous Propositions which Undermine Human Rights

Adding to the current yellow vest protest in France, the report of the parliamentary fact-finding mission on the revision of the bioethics laws, contains provocative and tumultuous propositions, which ruin the  safeguarding principles of French bioethics. Diametrically opposed to medicine and solidarity, they include: allowing transgenic embryos and post-mortem IVF, encouraging eugenics by widespread screening for disabilities prior to conception, in addition to prenatal and preimplantation diagnosis and sorting of embryos, as well as putting pressure on individuals at the end-of-life to obtain organ donations (refer to proposition 40).

The rapporteur, Jean-Louis Touraine has made a complete policy shift towards the right to a child to the disadvantage of the right of children to know their biological father, thus ignoring the complimentary gender roles of male and female for procreation. His proposal to officially recognize the intended parents in France, for children born abroad by surrogacy totally disregards the mother who gave birth, constituting a severe threat for the respect of women’s rights and dignity.

Tugdual Derville, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate speaks out:

«The disparity between the vigilant approach of the committee’s director and the rapporteur’s recommendations demonstrates the ludicrous exaggerations of these conclusions. Except for human-animal hybrids or chimeras, Jean-Louis Touraine has pulled out all the stops. This is a great loss for human dignity.  Generally speaking, this new but superfluous report, at least demonstrates the outrageous and exaggerated ideas that some individuals purport for deregulating bioethical positions. Alliance VITA is more committed than ever to remain involved in this participative process on these vital topics which preoccupy French citizens. The voices of the most vulnerable deserve to be heard, even though VITA is aware that those who monopolize the discussion are everything but willing to listen. Only by demonstrating a steady and vigilant involvement can we hope to dissuade the French President from acting on the recommendations in this report.  It’s up to us to vigorously protest against the obscene spending of public funds and energy for such infringements on Human Rights.”