While homosexual marriages are authorised in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, France stands still. While the PACS (Civil solidarity pact) has allowed couples of the same sex to emerge from legal secrecy, they still do not have the three options for union set out in the Civil Code: cohabitation, PACS and marriage.
As with the marriage prohibition, the refusal to allow couples of the same sex to apply for full adoption is a discrimination based on sexual orientation and a negation of the fundamental right to a family life. And yet, homosexual parenting is a social reality in France, as several tens of thousands of children live with couples of the same sex. These existing families have no means of having their family recognised as such. Unlike other European countries, France also prohibits access to medically assisted procreation (MAP) for single women or women living in a couple of the same sex. These women have to go abroad or have a makeshift insemination with no medical supervision. However, many studies show that being brought up by a couple of the same sex does not cause any specific trauma.
When will France finally offer all its citizens totally equal rights, irrespective of lifestyles or sentimental and sexual orientations?
Demands:
- The authorisation for people of the same sex to marry.
- The authorisation for couples of the same sex to apply for full adoption.
