Recognise gay dads, inquiry told
Gay men who become parents through surrogacy should be recognised as co-fathers on the birth certificate, a NSW parliamentary inquiry has been told.
If [two homosexuals] are raising the child, it is in the interests of the child that both their parents are included. They are the ones they know as parents and who are the only parents that they know in that household. The reality is that they are the parents regardless of what other people or society thinks, Law Society of NSW solicitor Alexandra Harland told the altruistic surrogacy inquiry last week.
The current arrangement means gay men who seek a surrogate mother overseas have problems when they bring the child back to Australia, UTS law professor Jenni Millbank said.
Technically under the literal wording of the Act their status is as a sperm donor. The birth mother is the legal mother of the child and yet they have gone through the process in California, or a number of other states, which severs her parental status. What you have is a child who has no parent and who is stateless.
Immigration officials had been ignoring the law to allow the genetic father to be treated as the legal father, she said.
Liberal powerbroker David Clarke tried unsuccessfully to get Harland, Millbank and departmental officials to agree that same-sex parents might not be in the best interests of a child, citing arguments from the ethics body of the Australian Catholic University.
Representatives from the Anglican diocese of Sydney agreed it was up to same-sex parenting lobbyists to prove that it will not be detrimental.
The best interests of the child may be to not be born at all; to not even exist. The reality is man, woman, child. There is a certain level of historical evidence on that point, Anglican Reverend Andrew Ford said.
He added that children from same-sex families or families with more than two parents can suffer from identity confusion because it wasn’t the norm.
The Australian Christian Lobby, Australian Family Association, Family Voice and the Catholic diocese of Sydney were also concerned only heterosexual married parents could create a stable environment for children.
But Department of Community Services officials said there was no evidence having same-sex parents creates a risk of harm to a child, and it was irrelevant to them whether a household was a single parent, a same-sex or an opposite-sex couple.
While people may say that the best arrangement is going to be a mother and father raising the child, it is hard to deny that we have a long history of grandmothers, for example, effectively doing the raising of the child, DoCS director of legal services Roderick Best said, citing the example of US President-elect Barack Obama.
John – I agree wholeheartedly with you that anonymous sperm donation should not be allowed. How society knowingly deprives a child of his heritage is beyond me.
Oliver – there have been a number of vile grubs in history, Hitler being up there with the worst of them. Ranking these people in order of the atrocities committed by them does not, and will not, make any of them look saintly compared to others. Not sure what living in the Eastern Suburbs has to do with anything. I went to school there but have never lived in the area.
James, the “father where known” should never happen. Anonymous sperm donation shouldn’t be allowed as it deprives the resulting children of 50% of their genetic heritage – knowledge about one’s family history is very important.
But heterosexuals have set up a system where “social fathers” don’t have to adopt their non-biological children, so long as the biological mother was married to them at the time and the conception was through IVF.
So if heteros don’t have to adopt their non-biological children, then why should we??
I am related to my non-biological child the same way a heterosexual man is related to his sperm-donor created child. Socially, not biologically.
I disagree James, there are and were much worse “Vile Grubs” which made Hitler look like a saint!! Chris and James, What happened in the 20th Century stays in the 20th century!!! Not important in 2008. Im so glad I moved away from Darlinghurst. I realised that Yes, I can have an opinion and a mind of my own and not have to be a Clone of the rest of Eastern Suburbs brainwash!!!
Is anyway we can have this nutcase banned from this forum…I am so sick of his tribble and hatred.
Adolf Hitler was one of history’s most vile grubs. He killed a range of people, from Jews to Gypsies to homosexuals to others. Perhaps it was his victims who were misunderstood?
Thanks James for the compliment re my second last paragraph…I’ve always believed that fighting for your human rights is the ultimate class act.
Oliver.. tell your opinion re Hitler to those people who survived your hero Hitler’s death camps or to the relatives of the 50 million people who your hero Hitler killed,including tens of thousands of gay and lesbian people. oliver you have no credibility whatsoever in life or on this forum.
Chris, Like James said, “Why do people come to a Discussion board if they dont actually want to hear differing points of view?” I beleive Hitler was misunderstood and not the Monster hes made out to be. God forbid we disagree with you Chris. I think youve Lived in the Darlinghurst Vicinity for too long.
Chris – thanks for your comments. Your second last paragraph is pure class. Why do people come to a discussion board if they don’t actually want to hear differing points of view? Weird.
Why am I so not surprised that it would be Oliver of all contributors to this forum who would support the views of James the homophobe and religious nutter!!
Oliver (Hitler wasn’t a bad person just misunderstood)supporting the views of James (most people don’t hate gay people its just their sexual acts that they find revolting )!!!!
Oliver I base my accusation of homophobia towards James not based on his jaundiced and prejudiced view of gay parenting alone but on his frequent anti gay equality posts on this site.
Gay parenting rights are about human rights.Gay and lesbian parents should have exactly the same rights as straight parents. No more rights than straight people and certainly no less!!
In my opinion it is people like James who cause harm to children spreading their vile sense of superiority and hatred towards gay and lesbian people , children should be protected from the haters like James and twisted collaborators from within our community like Oliver .
On the issue of human rights in this post election Obama
world GAY IS THE NEW BLACK-¦we will never give up until we
get our human rights despite the Olivers and James of this world .
Thanks for your kind and mature comments Sam. Good to see you add to the quality of this discussion.
James, you seem like one of those homophobic deviants the way you used the words ‘dysfunctional set up’ to describe what are largley loving relationships……..makes me wonder why you are reading this website.
Do you pretend to the world you are straight?
John – I’m in agreement with you that only the biological parents, where known, should be on a birth certificate. If the father is not known as he was simply a sperm donor, then it should be left blank.
I guess what it comes down to in my mind is that I don’t think that 2 people of the same gender should be raising a child and be classified as a family. Please don’t abuse me for saying this as at least I’m being honest with you.
Likewise, there are a number of examples of heterosexual arrangements that I don’t agree with either when children are involved.
Also, I don’t believe in single women being given access to IVF whether straight or not.
Kids are too precious to be put into a dysfunctional set up, or one that is simply too unconventional simply to satisfy the wants of the adults involved (straight or not).
I kinda agree with James. Really its not in our nature to have kids. Leave it to the Heterosexuals.
James, the problem with your stance is that it leads to ALL peole who use sperm or egg donation not being connected to the children they raise. Would you ban sperm donation for heterosexual couples? After all a kid in that situation would only consider the adoptive father as “the husband of my mother when I was born”.
and does it make a difference whether someone is a “boyfriend” (because they have no access to marriage) or husband (because heteros are allowed to get married)?
Personally I think that ONLY biological parents should be listed on birth certificates regardless of whether the couple raising the child is gay, lesbian or straight. But you will never get straights to change their mind on this, so we have to go with their precendent and accept non-biological parents on birth certificates just like they do!
Two fathers? Get real. The man who is not the sperm donor will never be a parent regardless of what a piece of paper says. If they split up, this person will in years to come only be considered as “the boyfriend of my real dad when I was born” by the child. What kid is gonna pine for his biological father’s boyfriend in years to come? “Oh, how I yearn to know my other father.” This is an absolute crock.
Why not put the family cat on the birth certificate?
Turnbull talks love of Jesus http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=3IZ34wIDVFg
I cannot believe that a Church’s spokesperson would say it would be better if a child did not exist in the first place. That disgusts me. It is obvious the Church doesn’t care about children, only about pushing their ideology onto everyone; whether catholic or not.