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AUSTRALIA
No “in vitro” for single women
Ban on fertilization for unmarried moms
The Australian government has submitted legislation prohibiting the use of in-vitro fertilization techniques by unmarried women.
The proposed new legislation, submitted by the Conservative government headed by Prime Minister John Howard, drew immediate protests from feminist groups and lesbian activists. Leaders of the opposition Labor Party also said that they would oppose the measure.
The legislation, introduced by the government on August 17, came in response a court ruling in July which found that Australia’s anti-discrimination laws were violated by a policy banning single women from in vitro clinics in the state of Victoria. The new bill would amend the anti-discrimination law to allow for such a ban.
A spokesman for Howard explained that the prohibition against artificial forms of achieving pregnancy in single women was a legitimate function of government authority, since society has an interest in seeing children born into two-parent families.
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