France may ban surrogate motherhood as part of its first biomedical code of ethics, to be debated in the National Assembly this session. If the code should become law, artificial insemination would be allowed only for
”therapeutic” purposes for sterile women or those whose husbands have genetic diseases. The law would sanction intermediaries who bring together mothers and adoptive couples, but would not sanction the mothers nor the couples. The principle behind the surrogacy ban would be that the body should not be for hire, says Philippe Bailly, adviser to the Justice Ministry, which undertook the project with the Social Affairs and Research Ministries. The law also would bar selling body parts or using medical procedures without a patient`s knowledge and consent.
