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Leaked gay marriage law: no more Mum and Dad

Nicola Hebden
Nicola Hebden - [email protected]
Leaked gay marriage law: no more Mum and Dad

A copy of the draft law to legalise gay marriage in France has been leaked to the press, revealing a plan to change all instances of “mother” and “father” in civil code to just “parents”.

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Published by Catholic paper La Vie over the weekend, the draft confirms a lot of what is already known about the new law.

The first part of the draft stipulates that marriage is a union of “two people, of different or the same sex”. Part two details the adoption rights of homosexual couples, which are to be the same as those of heterosexual couples.

A previously unknown detail is that all use of the terms “mother” and “father” in civil law are to be swapped for the term “parents”.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira spoke of a lot of the details in the new law during an interview with Catholic paper La Croix at the beginning of the month.

“Who is to say that a heterosexual couple will bring a child up better than a homosexual couple, that they will guarantee the best conditions for the child’s development?” she said.

“What is certain is that the interest of the child is a major preoccupation for the government.”

Since speaking to La Croix, Taubira has reportedly consulted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual (LGBT) associations on a few points in the draft law.

But members of the LGBT community still criticise the new law for not including support for artificial insemination for lesbian couples.

Others claim there are still holes in the new law, such as the adoption of one’s partner’s child outside of marriage, and the status of children born abroad from a surrogate mother.

Government officials have not yet commented on the leak of the draft law, which is due to be presented to the cabinet on October 31.

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