Bioethics body says lesbians or single women should be medically assisted to have children

Lesbian couples and single women who want to bear children should have access to medically assisted reproduction treatments such as in-vitro fertilization, France's highest bioethics body said on Tuesday.

The topic has stirred up political debates in France, which legalized gay marriage in 2013 in the face of opposition from the more conservative parts of the country, where the Catholic Church still commands influence.

The government is expected to make a final ruling on the reproduction issue later this year, which could be followed by legislation.

President Emmanuel Macron's government said last year it wanted to change the law which currently restricts such treatment to heterosexual couples. The assistance is widely available to all women in countries ranging from Britain and Belgium to Spain and Israel.