French surrogacy case heads to European human rights court France's highest appeals court has referred a long-fought case of surrogate parenthood, which is illegal in France, to the European Court of Human Rights. The Mennesson family is challenging current French law, which says that because their daughters were carried by a surrogate mother in the United States, their mother, Sylvie Mennesson, would have to follow adoption procedures in order to be recognised as such. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES