News
Check this page regularly for updates about rainbow families issues in the news, our education and advocacy work, and the broader work of the Rainbow Families Council.
Enquiry report launched in Parliament |
| Posted on Jun 07 2007 |
The Victorian Law Reform Commission launched the final report and recommendations of its Enquiry into Assisted Reproductive Technology and Adoption at Parliament House today. Rainbow Families Council and the Love Makes a Family campaign welcomed the report as a very positive step towards recognising the rights of same-sex parented children, their families and same-sex and single prospective parents. We urge the Victorian Government to turn the recommendations into legislation as soon as practicable.
Based on our initial reading of the report's executive summary, recommendations included:
- access to Assisted Reproductive Technology for lesbian and single women
- adoption ("stranger") opened up to same sex couples and gay or lesbian single people
- second parent adoption available to gay men who have accessed surrogacy and for same sex couples whose relationships start after children have been born.
- recognition of non birth mother through simple means of changing the birth certificate and recommendations also supporting this for families with existing children before the law is changes.
- clarification that a donor is not a father (even if a Known Donor is used through a clinic or in home insemination)
- birth certificates to change to allow you to give the option of listing ‘parents’ instead of ‘mother’ or ‘father’ so 2 mums or 2 dads can be named.
- decriminalise home insemination and recommends that children conceived this way not to be treated differently in terms of parentage.
- Altruistic (non-commercial) surrogacy to be made available including for gay men who have a friend as a surrogate
- The law changed to reflect that children may have two parents of the same sex.
You can read and download the executive summary and full report with its 130 recommendations on the Victorian Law Reform Commission website, or ring 03 8619 8619 to request that a hard copy be mailed to you.
Visit our campaign section for ways you can let the Government know how important these changes will be for children, families and prospective parents.
Back
 Rainbow Families Council 2010 Federal Election statement | downloads: 9 | type: pdf | size: 157 kB |
| Federal inquiry into donor conception - RFC information sheet | downloads: 8 | type: pdf | size: 807 kB |
Rainbow Families Council's suggestions for responding to the federal inquiry |
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| Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority News July 2010 | downloads: 13 | type: pdf | size: 61 kB |
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