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Paper Short Abstract:

Some male couples living in France go abroad to have access to surrogacy because it is forbidden in France. In spite of the opening of mariage and adoption for same-sex couples in 2013, they have been facing ostacles to be legally recognized as two fathers. How have they been dealing with it?

Paper Abstract:

Some couples of men living in France have been traveling abroad to get access to surrogacy because it is forbidden there over the last ten years. Coming back in France, trying to have legal rights for both fathers can become a challenge. This paper will show how these men have been facing obstacles to legal recognition since 2013, when marriage and adoption became accessible to same-sex couples in France. It is based on an empirical research conducted between 2017 and 2021 for a sociological thesis about the legal recognition of all kinds of same-sex families in France. It will focus on materials coming from interviews with 17 gay or bisexual fathers, 25 attorneys and 26 prosecutors and judges, observations of trials, and more than a hundred judiciary cases.

The road to become a father is already paved of many obstacles for male couples living in France: they have to legitimate their desire to be a father despite their homo/bisexuality and the way they choose to do it despite the ban on surrogacy and its stigmatization. Once they become fathers, they face a legal landscape which is very uncertain because of the many changes in French jurisprudence that took place since 2013. However, their attorneys can help them pick the right procedure for them according to their desire to go as fast and easy as possible or to try to challenge the jurisprudence to improve reproductive rights for all couples who use surrogacy.