A ruling by France's supreme court on the right of parents to name a miscarried or stillborn foetus could stoke debate about the country's abortion laws and embryo research, lawyers and activists said Thursday.

The Court of Cassation, France's highest judicial court, handed down the decision late Wednesday.

It said parents had the right to have a name officially registered for a foetus that had been stillborn or miscarried, regardless of the foetal stage of development.

The court upheld a suit filed by three plaintiffs who had miscarriages between the 18th and 22nd week of pregnancy, with foetuses weighing between 155 and 400 grammes (5.5 and 14 ounces), but had been barred from registering a name with the authorities.

Until now, French officials have insisted that only foetuses that have developed beyond the 22nd week or weigh more than 550g (1.1 pounds), or have been certified by a doctor as having briefly lived, have the right to have a name registered.

The finding had been sought for years by campaigners, who said that by getting the legal right to name the foetus, grieving would-be parents could come to terms with their loss.

It also enables the mother of the foetus to claim maternity leave and parents to recover the body to hold a funeral. Before foetus were incinerated by the hospital along with waste tissues.

The administrative circular used by French officials that is at the heart of the controversy had been based on a 1977 World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of a viable foetus.