France’s motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” arose during the French Revolution, and has since reminded the people of the noble and familial values crucial to the success of their society. The French National Assembly recently approved a bill that would destroy any semblance of a firm communal foundation, spurring a new battle cry from protesters: “Liberty, Equality, and Paternity.”
Last month, the French National Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill that aims to give single women and lesbian couples legal access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg-freezing, and fertility medication. The bill will face the Senate for final approval at the end of this year.
It deprives children of one of the most crucial role models in their life: a father.
The bill may exalt women, but it harms the remaining members of the family.
According to the Washington Post, French law currently allows IVF and related procedures only for infertile heterosexual couples. Under the proposed legislation, the French healthcare system would cover the cost of assisted reproduction procedures for all women under the age of 43.
Supporters of the bill claim it will undo an outdated patriarchal system by supporting all women of their right to bear children, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation.
But having a child is not a right.
Children are a joy, but they are also a responsibility. They are not participation awards given to anyone who wants one. Parenthood means providing for the child’s physical and emotional well-being. This includes providing a steady income, reliable housing, healthy meals, appropriate affection, and proper discipline.
Fathers are half of the parenthood equation.
“Fathers often push achievement while mothers stress nurturing, both of which are important to healthy development,” an article by Jeffrey Rosenburg and W. Bradford Wilcox from the Child Welfare Information Gateway said. “As a result, children who grow up with involved fathers are more comfortable exploring the world around them and more likely to exhibit self-control and pro-social behavior.”
Parenthood is a task meant to be shared by one man and one woman. The way men play and interact with their children shapes their social and emotional development.
As found by Charlie Lewis and Michael E. Lamb in their psychological study published in 2003, fathers encourage their children to take risks and go outside of their comfort zones. Rough-housing with kids helps them learn to regulate their feelings and control aggression. Children deserve all these opportunities to experience the world and become well-rounded human beings.
The monumental task of parenting is difficult, but important to the stability of a healthy society. It’s not a right, it’s a duty — one that is best fulfilled with two parents. This duty comes from a natural and loving act, not a test tube.
France has just made the heroic, sacrificial act of parenthood into something selfish.
Sandrine Rudnicki is a single woman who took on an enormous expense to travel to Denmark and conceive her now 10-month-old daughter, Emilia, through IVF. She is ecstatic that the bill successfully passed the National Assembly.
“This erases all sorts of inequalities” Rudnicki said.
Rudnicki has so vehemently championed equality for potential mothers that she has forgotten about her daughter’s needs. Emilia deserves a childhood that is equal to that of her peers. Instead, she will grow up without hearing her father’s voice. Even Emilia’s access to the truth will be compromised, as under the proposed law, only her mother’s name will be printed on her birth certificate.
The pending legislation would allow children conceived with donated sperm to find out the donor’s identity upon demand when they reach age 18. This is a change from France’s current strict donor anonymity protections.
“For me it’s something which is indispensable,” Rudnicki said. “It will enable these children to have a foundation, a reference.”
But the “reference” that is so vital to her child’s maturing would come 18 years too late.
IVF is unnatural and devalues a marriage between a man and a woman. Promoting fatherless homes is detrimental to the child, and the society he or she must grow up in. The proposed legislation is selfish and dishonest. By removing fathers from parenthood, the bill ignores science and harms society.
By advocating women’s rights through fertility treatments, France is forgetting what is truly best for the foundation of their country: Liberty, Equality, and Paternity.
Genevieve O’Gara is a freshman studying English.
