In the plenary session on February 4, 2020, the French Senate voted the bioethics bill. However, this text does not deserve to be called bioethical. It threatens the rights of the most vulnerable in our society by ignoring the fundamental principles of human ecology.
Alliance VITA had previously pointed out that the text is full of contradictions and injustices. How is it possible to assert that “no one has the right to a child”, and in the following article to propose ART with a donor to any woman without a male partner? In so doing “ART without a father” is instituted, de facto, and at the same time, ART for heterosexual couples is made possible for medical reasons only. Completely irrational. And the ultimate paradox is that the couples confronted with infertility are facing the greatest discrimination. Worse, the national research infertility program, which was added to the text by the National Assembly to study the causes and prevention of infertility, has disappeared from the bill.
How is it possible to pretend that the anonymity for donors is lifted, and at the same to allow the donor to choose whether or not to reveal his identity when the child requests it when he is 18? This is a ticking time bomb extremely detrimental to the child.
How can human embryos be given their due and rightful consideration, when the maximum period of time for cultivating an embryo for research is extended to 21 days, and the creation of transgenic and chimeric embryos is authorized?
The senators finally ruled against the ultra-eugenic technique, PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis). Nevertheless, they re-established the use of “saviour babies”, despite the fact that the deputies had rightly voted to put an end to this practice. This shows that the senators are unable to assess this bill and to criticize the decisions which are absolutely contrary to ethics.
“The debates in the Senate have finally shed light on the challenges of this bill and on its dangers. Many experts following political lines rather different from the presidential line have denounced the serious ethical breaches in the bill. The Senators have made one contradictory vote after another, as if it was still necessary to prove that relativism in bioethics tends to disintegrate ethics. As it stands, this text is unacceptable because of the serious injustices it inflicts on future generations by yielding to individualism and scientific technology. The parliamentary process is not finished, and we will continue fighting for appropriate changes in the bill. Alliance VITA and their teams throughout France will continue to plan actions to inform and alert.“
