Facteurs décisionnels reliés au statut biologique et au mode de procréation chez des futures mères lesbiennes

Abstract

The present study aims at examining the factors associated with the choice made by lesbian couples opting for motherhood as to which partner will carry the child and what form of procreation will be selected. Semi-structured individual interviews were carried out amongst fifty nulliparous couples (25 couples), 56 % of whom are looking to an anonymous genitor and 44 % to a known genitor. An analysis of the content of the interviews indicates that there are more future biological mothers than there are co-mothers who evoke a childhood that included maternally oriented presumptions and play activities linked to motherhood ; and there are more future biological mothers who were looking forward to bearing a child when adult. On the other hand, a larger proportion of future co-mothers admit to spousal motives for becoming a parent and are the subject of negative reactions from their friends as regards their parental project. Our results show also that though these couples may wish for equality as regards parenting, they nevertheless anticipate specialized parental roles and a prioritizing of the biological link with the child. The current working conditions of the future mothers also impact on their anticipated biological status. Finally, we explored the reasons behind the choice of the procreative instrument. This study suggests that the adoption of Quebec provincial statute 84 has affected the decisions made by lesbian couples as to the management of their pre-partum parental roles.