The bioethics law was adopted a year ago, on August 2, 2021. In particular, it allows medically assisted procreation (PMA) for all women, including singles and those who are in a relationship with another woman. “We are faced with a huge number of requests”, described on franceinfo Joëlle Belaisch-Allart, head of the obstetrics gynecology and reproductive medicine department at Saint-Cloud hospital. There were more than 5,000 new requests in the first quarter of 2022, according to figures from the Biomedicine Agency. “Faced with this avalanche of requests, there is a problem of means”according to her.
franceinfo: Are you surprised by the number of requests since the adoption of this law a year ago?
Joelle Belaisch-Allart: It is true that the number of requests has exploded compared to what was expected. I think we are at the very beginning of the measures and the law. This law is a real societal revolution, we must be aware of it. We are faced with a huge number of requests, it must be said. It may be a starting effect and it may calm down afterwards, but compared to what was expected, there is indeed fantastic demand.
We are also a bit surprised because, for example, in Belgium, there was a majority of female couples. In France, more than 50% of requests are from single women. I have a personal interpretation. There are of course women who really want a child on their own. However, I think there is also a certain pressure linked to the fact that self-preservation, which is another of the flagship measures of the law, is limited in time and is only authorized until the 37th birthday. So a number of older women think their only way to have a child is like this.
What about application processing times? Are they long?
The latest data from the Biomedicine Agency show that the average time between the first appointment and obtaining a straw is 13.6 months. The law passed on August 2. We started to receive women in September. We are just starting, in the spring of 2022, to perform the first inseminations with donor sperm.
Does this mean that we are short of donors?
It’s clear that we probably don’t have enough donations. There has already been an increase which was mentioned at the beginning of the first half of 2022. The law will also change because donors who will give from September 1 will immediately agree to communicate their identity when the child comes of age. if that child asks for it. What will happen then? Currently, there has been an increase in donations, but it is not enough. However, there is not only the problem of donors, there is also the problem of means. Faced with this avalanche of requests, we need doctors, we need psychologists, we need premises. There is really an organization to do.