Same-Sex Families Challenging Norms and the Law in France

Legal context has become more inclusive for same-sex couples in French society over the recent decade. It was not until 2013 that the marriage law was amended to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. However, the law still lacks collateral parenting rights: access to ART and surrogacy are still illegal in France for same sex couples, and they must turn to foreign countries to access these rights. Consequently, same-sex parenting is a bit of a “makeshift job”, i.e., a legal and social grey area. This chapter analyses how lesbian and gay individuals deal with the law to “make” family, based on a series of in-depth interviews. The retelling of the procreation process they adopt and the story of their daily life as parents provide revealing examples of the different way they negotiate the legal and social obstacles they face. With many roads leading to parenthood, one key aspect of same-sex parenting is the legal recognition of the status and obligations to parent(s), whatever their gender, sexual orientation or number. The different same-sex families configurations challenge the certainties about the “right way to be parent” supported by the law, questioning the dominant and legitimate definition of the “normal” family

Immunization and multiple sclerosis: Recommendations from the French Multiple Sclerosis Society

International audienceObjectives: To establish recommendations on immunization for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).Background: Vaccines have been suspected in the past to trigger MS and relapses. With the extension of the immunoactive treatment arsenal, other concerns have been raised more recently about an increased risk of infection or a decreased effectiveness of immunization in immunosuppressed patients.Methods: The French Group for Recommendations into Multiple Sclerosis (France4MS) performed a systematic search of papers in Medline and other university databases (January 1975-June 2018). The RAND/UCLA appropriateness method was chosen to review the scientific literature and to formalize the degree of agreement among experts on 5 clinical questions related to immunization and MS. Readers from the steering committee conducted a systematic analysis, wrote a critical synthesis and prepared a list of proposals that were evaluated by a rating group of 28 MS experts. The final version of the recommendations was finally reviewed by a reading group of 110 health care professionals and classified as appropriate, inappropriate or uncertain.Results: Neurologists should verify the vaccination status as soon as MS is diagnosed and before disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are introduced. The French vaccination schedule applies to MS patients and seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended. In the case of treatment-induced immunosuppression, MS patients should be informed about the risk of infection and the vaccination standards of the French High Council of Health should be applied. Live attenuated vaccines are contra-indicated in patients recently treated with immunosuppressive drugs, including corticosteroids; other vaccines can be proposed whatever the treatment, but their effectiveness may be partly reduced with some drugs.Conclusion: Physicians and patients should be aware of the updated recommendations for immunizations of patients with MS