Rights and obligations of children born of assisted reproduction

Olivier and Arthur have been a couple for almost 10 years.
With their careers well underway, they are finally ready to start a family together.
Lana, a close friend of the couple’s, has always told them that she would be delighted to carry their long-awaited child, as she is already the mother of two beautiful children.
After several months of discussions, Olivier and Arthur finally made up their minds.
The procreation took place by implanting an egg fertilized in vitro by Arthur into Lana’s body.
It was then agreed that the child would be adopted by Olivier with Arthur’s consent.
Nine months later, Lily was born in full health.
The birth certificate shows her father as Arthur and her mother as Lana.
Lily is immediately entrusted to Olivier and Arthur.
Olivier wonders whether he will be able to validly adopt his daughter and exercise his parental authority.

Did you know that all children have the same rights and obligations, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, including children born of assisted reproduction?
In order to be recognized as Lily’s father, Olivier will have to file a request for an adoption order with the Chambre de la jeunesse.
He will have to prove that the adoption is in Lily’s best interests.
The judge will have to disregard the circumstances surrounding the birth, even though the couple used a surrogate mother.
Once the petition is granted, Olivier’s name will appear on the birth certificate under father, while Lana’s name will disappear.

It is important to distinguish between the surrogacy contract and the rights of children born of surrogacy.
The interests of the children always come first.
If, however, the couple had decided to sign a surrogacy contract, it would have been considered absolutely null and void.
This means that the couple could not have forced Lana to continue her pregnancy if she had decided to interrupt it.
It also means that they could not have invoked the procreation and gestation agreement if she had refused to sign a consent to adoption.

The parental project for assisted reproduction still entails a number of legal risks. Should you be facing such a situation and need advice, do not hesitate to contact us.