Until now, parents could only give their baby one name, symbolically. After the vote in Parliament last November, the bill to name babies born without life is published in the Official Journal.
Until now, French law allowed parents to give a last name to a child, only when it is “born, alive and viable”. But the proposed law, aimed at name babies born lifeless, voted in the Senate last June then adopted by Parliament on November 26, has just been published in Official Journal of December 6, 2021. From now on, parents who lose their baby when it has just come into the world, will be able to give it a name and no longer a single symbolic first name. The child born without life is not nothing. It belongs to the family. It is about “not adding oblivion to the unbearable tragedy“, declared the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti.
Are stillborn babies in the past also affected?
This bill will also apply to babies born lifeless in the past, who may be given a name. ” The acts already drawn up can be completed “, specified the Minister of Justice.
Regarding the family record book, a future decree should be published. Filed by Senator Union centrist de la Côte-d’Or Anne-Catherine Loisier in December 2020, this bill already provided for the first names and the surname of the child to be stated on the document read by the officer. civil status, which then enters it in the death registers.
A first and last name to children born without life
The article of law specifies that the parents can choose to include: the first names of the child as well as the name, which can be “either the name of the father, or the name of the mother, or their two names joined” in the order of their choice, “within the limit of one last name for each of them”.
On the other hand, the text specifies that the choice of first names and family names does not no legal effect, in particular as regards filiation or even inheritance. It is therefore a symbolic measure. “Giving a name, alongside the first name, would make the symbolic recognition of the lifeless child more consistent and would follow the same compassionate logic as that desired by the legislator when creating article 79-1 of the civil code. in 1993. Some families do not understand the in-between “current according to which one can choose a first name, but not a last name”, specified the Senate.
Remember that a circular dating from 2009 allowed parents who lost their child at birth to give it one or more first names, and to organize a funeral. They then have 10 days from the birth to claim the body of the little being. They can also benefit from maternity and paternity leave as well as a specific allowance paid by CAF. For the rapporteur Béatrice Descamps (UDI), this new bill brings “a human response to all families”.