Dead-End in Sight: France Struggles with Surrogacy and Cross-Border Practices

This article addresses the issue and practice of surrogacy in France. Surrogacy contracts are void under French law, and intermediaries, medical personnel, and in some cases, parents can be penalized if they partake in this method of ART. Consequently, the vast majority of French children born of surrogacy result from cross-border practices that their parents undertake. Divided into three parts, this chapter will first explore the French legal framework of surrogacy, then explore the cross-border practices at play and the difficulties they raise for ensuing parents and children once back on French soil, and finally examines diverse social movements and discourse either for or against the legalization of surrogacy in France. It concludes by arguing that before establishing a regulatory framework for surrogacy, the most pressing issue is to protect children born of French parents abroad via surrogacy once the family returns to the country.