Inclusion, exclusion: comparative public policy (France/USA) in access to assisted reproductive technology

Abstract

This article examines what French and American societies mean by the principle of personal autonomy/‘right to privacy’ and the concept of solidarity/‘the best interest of the society at large’. It will attempt to show how these two countries translate these concepts into different public policies, more specifically in the field of access to sexual and reproductive rights of women and men. In order to better highlight these differences, I observe what citizens actually experience on the ground, and in so doing, it becomes clear that each country does not fully meet the principles they purport to defend.