Access to PMA, preservation of oocytes, measures to facilitate the menopause period or even “duty to visit” for separated fathers. President Emmanuel Macron announced several measures aimed at women and mothers in an interview with Elle magazine, published this Wednesday. Here are its main announcements.
Fertility check-up at age 20, oocyte conservation, access to assisted reproduction
In this interview, Emmanuel Macron therefore specifies his vast plan against infertility, which will begin with a complete assessment for everyone around 20 years old. He announced this plan to revive the birth rate during a press conference on January 16. “Every woman must freely dispose of her body. But one figure strikes me: the fertility rate is 1.8 and the rate of desire for children is 2.3”he declares in Elle.
He clarified that his plan to combat infertility would be structured around “prevention”, “pathway” and “research”. He thus asserts thata “fertility check-up”, around the age of 20would be offered to everyone and reimbursed by health insurance for’“establish a complete assessment, spectrogram, (or) ovarian reserve”.
“We are going to organize campaigns in favor of self-preservation of oocytes for women who want to have children later,” he also indicated.
For reduce waiting times to access a PMA, currently 16 to 24 months, Emmanuel Macron intends to “open oocyte self-preservation to private centers” was “until now reserved for hospitals”.
Emmanuel Macron still opposed to GPA
On the other hand, the Head of State renews in this interview with Elle his opposition to surrogacy, GPA. “I repeat, I am not in favor of it. It is not compatible with the dignity of women, it is a form of commodification of their bodies”he insists.
“That said, I obviously think that parents of children born through surrogacy abroad must be respected and supported. They are loving families”he adds.
Recurring subject of political discord, GPA resurfaced in the news at the end of April with a tweet from Marion Maréchal. The head of the Reconquest list in the European elections reacted to the announcement of the paternity of fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus and her husband with a message asking “where is the mother?” “I was shocked by the way this controversy arose, and by what it says about the homophobia of certain French political parties,” said Emmanuel Macron.
A parliamentary mission on menopause
The President also announces, in the magazine**, a parliamentary mission on menopause**. He wants her “takes stock of the current management of menopause (treatments, support, osteoporosis, cardio and psychological monitoring) and the difficulties encountered by women in terms of information and monitoring”. This phenomenon “is a real taboo in society”, he laments.
The director of Menopause Center at Toulouse University Hospital, Florence Trémollières, will participate. This mission “will be used above all to provide information on what menopause is, and to implement actions to prevent all the consequences”has she explained on - this Wednesday.
To inform about menopause, “we will try to mobilize actors from civil society and, I hope, personalities who will agree to talk about theirs”, indicates the professor of medical gynecology.
In Elle, Emmanuel Macron declares that he has “also requested that we contact the High Health Authority so that it defines a practice and guidelines on hormonal treatments during menopause” because “Today, many women think that the treatments are not suitable.” The head of state “wishes to obtain clear recommendations”.
Florence Trémollières cites a study in which she participated, “two years ago”. At the time, “there were only 6% women” menopausal “who were taking hormonal treatment”. Gold, “the benefits far outweigh the risks when you take this treatment at the very beginning of menopause or, overall, in the first ten years of physiological menopause which would occur at age 50”, she specifies.
The “duty to visit” of fathers
In a video posted by Elle on Instagram Tuesday evening, Emmanuel Macron also suggests opening a “debate” on the establishment of a possible “visit duty” fathers in single-parent families.
“I want us to be able to open this debate, which is basically both a debate on parenthood and a debate on equality between women and men, which is that of establishing a visiting duty, a duty support until adulthood, children”says the president in this video.
“When there is a father, he must exercise all his duties and the mother, when she is in this situation, can demand regular visits” adds the Head of State, evoking the need for fathers to participate, for example, in parent-teacher meetings and to be “stakeholder” of the child’s education.
