Paul KeenanFamilies take to streets to defeat new legislation
The French government has rowed back from enacting new pro-gay family legislation following massive demonstrations.
Following an announcement by legislators of a plan to include procreative rights for lesbian couples and surrogacy for gay men in a new Bill, over 100,000 protestors took to the streets of Paris and Lyon to make their objections known. Attempts to reassure the protestors on the implications of the Bill for traditional family life were rejected as lies and the government finally withdrew the proposed legislation with a promise that it would “not submit a family reform Bill before the end of the year”.
Observers have pointed out that the volume of protestors was made possible by increasing frustration with President Francois Hollande’s ongoing drive to redefine the family, not least with his gay marriage legislation of last year.
Assisted procreation is legal in France for infertile married couples, while surrogacy is illegal and polls say a large majority of French reject it as exploitation of women.