Mapping French people's views regarding posthumous reproduction.

OBJECTIVE: The study mapped French people's views regarding the acceptability of posthumous reproduction.

BACKGROUND: Posthumous reproduction - the use of a deceased person's gametes for procreative purposes -is a controversial procedure because it involves a series of ethical issues, namely the surviving partner's rights to procreation, the emotional feelings and financial interests of other family members, and the government's interest in maintaining orderly inheritance rules.

METHODS: A convenience sample of participants aged 19-68 (104 lay people, 47 health professionals and 15 lawyers) were presented with 48 realistic stories that were composed according to a four-factor within-subject design: marital status (married for about 10 years with children, married for about three years without children, and cohabiting for three years without children) × attitude of the deceased's parents (favourable vs. unfavourable to posthumous procreation) × time elapsed since the partner's death (three months vs. nine months) × deceased's wishes (written consent, oral consent given in front of credible witnesses, unknown wishes, and unfavourable attitude).

RESULTS: Through cluster analysis, four qualitatively different positions were found. They were called Never Acceptable (35% of the sample, mostly health professionals, lawyers and regular attendees to the church or temple), Tolerable in a Few Cases (28%), Depends on Deceased's Wishes (22%, mostly lay people) and Quite Acceptable (16%, mostly lay people).

CONCLUSIONS: About half of French lay people view the current legislation regarding posthumous assisted reproduction in a country such as the UK as more appropriate than the French legislation.