Press Release – April 2, 2025
Olivia Maurel, spokesperson for the Casablanca Declaration, announced today that she has filed a complaint with Public Prosecutors of Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux (France) against Romain Taillandier, representative of the American commercial company Fertility Center of Las Vegas (FCLV), which specializes in surrogacy.
These complaints are based on the commercial offer of surrogacy services on French soil, which constitutes a violation of Article 227-12 of the French Penal Code, which penalizes mediation in surrogacy. French law strictly prohibits any form of commodification of the human body and thus protects women from reproductive exploitation.
Indeed, Romain Taillandier recently announced on his social media that he would be coming to France to meet “people who would like to have information about assisted reproduction or surrogacy” with Dr. Bruce Shapiro, founder of FCLV.
They will be in Paris, Bordeaux, and Lyon on April 4, 5, and 6, 2025, as indicated in his social media posts.
The Casablanca Declaration brings together experts and public figures committed to protect women and children from the global surrogacy market. Through this legal action, it reaffirms the need to uphold the law and prevent any attempt to introduce practices contrary to the fundamental principles of French law.
Olivia Maurel and the signatory experts of the Casablanca Declaration call on the authorities to exercise heightened vigilance against attempts to circumvent the law by foreign actors and reiterate their commitment to protect vulnerable people from all forms of surrogacy, whether commercial or purportedly “altruistic.”