Extract
[...] To what extent does French law, by regulating IVF, succeed-has it ensured effective equality of access to IVF devices and concrete protection of the interest of the child to be born? Subject : Assisted Reproduction - The Place of the Child's Interest Table of Contents Introduction 2 I. The legal framework of the child's interest in PMA 5 A. The protection of the child's interest by law 5 B. The defense of the child's interest in the PMA by the doctrine 7 II. The practical implementation and the stakes of the child's interest in the PMA 10 A. Procedural guarantees and filiation 10 B. [...]
[...] Therefore, the child's superior interest, proclaimed, is not yet fully guaranteed in fact, and calls for a better articulation between parental will, biological truth, and the securing of the filiation link. Furthermore, in certain situations, the interests of the parent and the child may diverge, requiring the representation of the child by a neutral person to ensure that their interests are protected.34. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is a key indicator of how the principle of the child's interest is concretized in the face of the evolution of assisted reproductive medical techniques.35. [...]
[...] To remedy these shortcomings, doctrine proposes several encadrement mechanisms. First, the establishment of a proportionality test inspired by administrative jurisprudence: any medical or administrative decision to refuse, suspend or restrict an IVF treatment should be motivated in accordance with the criteria of necessity, appropriateness and proportionality, with the obligation to record this motivation in the file and, if necessary, to communicate it to the person concerned. Then, the creation ofpluralist instances of ethics within each IVF center, integrating not only doctors and psychologists, but also representatives of user associations and, if necessary, children born through IVF, responsible for issuing a consultative opinion on treatment projects. [...]
[...] Henceforth, the following paragraphs of this same article and articles L. 2141-2 to L. 2141-4 structures the access to MAP around clearly stated objectives. On the one hand, ensuring the physical and mental health of the child to be born. On the other hand, preventing any eugenic or commercial drift, by reserving the possibility of gamete donation to an anonymous, free, and non-profit act. The obligation of a prior medical and psychosocial assessment (articles L. 2141-5 and L. [...]
[...] In the wake of bioethical devices and paternity disputes, a deeper question is currently traversing the doctrine: what is the true place of the child in contemporary law? Some authors39 highlight that the child, long considered a subject of civil law, is gradually becoming a normative object in public order and fundamental rights. The author analyzes how international instruments (notably the International Convention on the Rights of the Child) have transformed the legal representation of the child. The child is no longer just a protected subject but a legal actor around whom constitutional, conventional, and legislative obligations coalesce. [...]
