France has passed a law allowing single women and lesbian couples to get fertility treatment, currently reserved for heterosexual couples.
The National Assembly (lower house) vote follows two years of heated debate and demonstrations by groups opposed to this expansion of reproductive rights.
Many French women have gone to Belgium and Spain for fertility treatment, which can be very expensive.
The new law brings France into line with 10 other EU countries and the UK.
Besides Belgium and Spain, the 10 are: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. Outside the EU, Iceland and Norway have similar legal provisions.
A recent Ifop opinion poll found 67% of French respondents favour the new law.
There was resistance to it in the French Senate (upper house), and the draft acquired more than 1,500 amendments, but the National Assembly had the final say. It passed on Tuesday by 326 votes to 115, as President Emmanuel Macron’s party – La République en Marche (LREM) – has a lower house majority with its allies.
Health Minister Olivier Véran said he hoped the first children would be conceived by the end of 2021, although changes to the law could be delayed by an appeal to France’s Constitutional Council involving opposition politicians on the right.
