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ARS Finalizes Closure of Les Lilas Maternity, Deliveries End Tonight

Authorities cite a lost health certification alongside unsustainable finances as the cause.

Overview

  • The regional health agency confirmed the definitive shutdown after the clinic lost Haute Autorité de Santé certification and its operator could no longer sustain the activity.
  • The non-profit facility is set to cease operations on Friday night, October 31, ending childbirth services at the site.
  • Hundreds of staff, former patients, and activists, including members of Femen, gathered Thursday in Les Lilas to protest the decision.
  • Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a women's health center will replace the clinic to provide pre- and post-natal care but not deliveries.
  • Founded in 1964, the clinic pioneered less-medicalized childbirth and supported reproductive-rights activism, and roughly 75 permanent staff now face uncertainty.