Volume 124, January 2015, Pages 391–397
- a Bioethics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- b Department of Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
- Available online 10 September 2014
Highlights
- •
- French lesbians and single women are coming to Belgium to evade French laws.
- •
- They face additional challenges to the process of cross-border infertility treatment.
- •
- The participants felt that they were discriminated against in France.
- •
- The participants with help from a supportive physician at home had better experiences.
Abstract
One
consequence of the legal diversity in Europe is that legal restrictions
on treatments can be evaded by going abroad. Many French lesbian
couples and single women are crossing the border to Belgium because they
are denied access to treatments with donor sperm at home. This is the
first qualitative research study into the experiences and moral
perspectives of these women. Between June 2012 and May 2013, 11 lesbian
couples and 2 single women were recruited at the department of
reproductive medicine at Ghent University Hospital. The data from the
semi-structured interviews was analysed using inductive thematic
analysis. The results show that these women face several additional
challenges to the already difficult process of cross-border treatment.
Before they can start the treatment, they can only obtain information
from the internet or from stories of friends who also went abroad for
treatment with donor sperm. During the treatment, they need to find
local clinics or physicians to monitor their cycle. Several women
managed to game the French system to ensure partial reimbursement for
their treatment when they were successful in finding a physician who was
willing to prescribe drugs and perform tests. Most women had
difficulties justifying their absence from work. In general these women
felt that they were discriminated against and that their rights were not
protected because of who they are. In that regard, the lack of legal
recognition of the genetically unrelated partner in their country was
particularly hard to cope with for the lesbian couples. These women have
to develop many different strategies to deal with the difficulties they
face during cross-border reproductive care. It is concluded that it is
very important that they find a physician who is willing to support them
in their ‘baby project’.
Keywords
- Belgium;
- France;
- Lesbian;
- Single mothers;
- Reproductive tourism;
- Sperm donation
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
