Question 8706 — family

Summary

The law of January 22, 2002 relating to access to the personal origins of adopted persons and wards of the State reformed the secret childbirth procedure by strengthening the information and support of birth mothers and by inviting them to leave, if they accept, their identity in a closed envelope as well as information for the attention of the child. She also created the national council for access to personal origins (CNAOP) placed with the minister, responsible for processing requests for access to the origins of wards of the State and adopted persons. The creation of this council, which marks the culmination of much work, marked an essential step forward in the organization of a system allowing secure access to knowledge of personal origins. This system is in fact a continuation of the International Convention on the Rights of the child which recognizes in its article 7 the right of the child "as far as possible" to know his parents. The balance it establishes between the child's right to know their origins and the woman's right to respect their private life has been validated by the European Court of Human Rights twice in the Odièvre judgments of February 22, 2003 (right to know one's origins), and Kearns of January 10, 2008 (conditions of information and collection of the birth mother's decision). It is not contrary to international conventions. It also makes it possible to secure unwanted pregnancies from a health point of view. However, the secret delivery system and access to origins are regularly questioned. A certain number of recommendations were thus put forward in the Gouttenoire, Théry and Rosenczveig reports, namely: - the collection mandatory disclosure of the identity of the birth mother in a closed envelope and the automatic lifting of secrecy relating to the identity of the birth mother upon the child's majority, the possibility of reserving access to their personal origins only for adults, the possibility of access to the medical file of the birth mother in the event of therapeutic necessity or serious genetic anomaly (like gamete donors), the strengthening of support for birth mothers. - The question of informing relatives in the event of a genetic anomaly, for people born in secret and for birth mothers, is currently being studied within the framework of a dedicated working group led by the CNAOP. This question could, if necessary, be addressed within the framework of the modification of the law on bioethics to consider extending information to relatives to the public targeted by the law of January 22, 2002. Apart from these specific provisions, it does not appear appropriate to modify the law of 2002 and the balance it established regarding the conditions of respect for secrecy. However, it is essential to strengthen support and information for women giving birth in secret in their interest and that of the child. This is why the Ministry of Solidarity and Health has produced on April 4, 2016, an instruction and a guide aimed at strengthening this support as well as the partnership between health establishments and departmental councils by establishing protocols; instructions were also given for the preservation of registers and files regarding secret deliveries in maternity wards.  A study financed by the General Directorate of Social Cohesion was carried out in 2017 to know the information and support practices for women giving birth in secret, by the departmental correspondents of the CNAOP and by the maternity wards. It shows the need to continue training by the CNAOP for departmental correspondents, to strengthen exchanges of practices, to improve the information provided to women who give birth in secret by better equipping departmental correspondents, by using simpler and more accessible communication media. This is why a working group will soon meet within the CNAOP to work on the documents given to birth mothers in order to improve their information, particularly on the importance for everyone to know their origins.

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