Anti-IVF Groups March in Paris

The bill would finally allow access to assisted reproductive technologies, including IVF, for unmarried women and lesbian couples in France. (Wikimedia Commons)

Thousands of people marched through France’s capital on October 6 to protest a new in vitro fertilization (IVF) bill that was recently approved by French lawmakers. The bill proposed paying for IVF treatments for lesbian couples and single women. 

Conservative activist group “Manif Pour Tous” (Demonstration for All) spearheaded the march, accompanied by 16 other conservative protest groups. The group recently renamed itself “Marchons Enfants” (Walk for Children) in light of the recent bill passing.

The protest occurred 10 days after the passing of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Medically Assisted Procreation (MAP) law. The law would give single women and lesbian couples the same fertility treatments that heterosexual couples currently receive. However, the bill still needs approval by the Senate later this year.

The protesting groups argue that children should not grow up without a father figure, with those that marched saying “it’s not normal” and waving flags with signs such as “Liberty, Equality, and Paternity,” a play on the French motto “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” They argue that the bill would destroy France’s traditional family structure, paving the way for a deeply immoral society.

Although a small group hosted a counter-protest on October 6, extensive counter-protests have not yet taken place. However, they are expected to occur in the near future, most likely hosted by local LGBT+ groups.