Crowds rally to push for ART bill support

A colourful crowd of grandmothers, mothers and their children gathered on the steps of parliament last Thursday to urge MPs to pass the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill currently before the upper house.

Around 150 people gathered in the rain, calling for passage of the bill which will recognise non-birth parents and allow lesbian couples and single women access to IVF.

Former Family Court chief justice Alastair Nicholson spoke to families assembled, saying if the legislation does not pass it will be -œa pointless step back to bigotry.

Gillian Allen, a grandmother from Wodonga, said she was at the rally to support her two lesbian daughters and their rainbow families.

-œI want my grandchildren to have the same rights as others, she said.

-œWe don’t want our families to have to go interstate, we want them here with us. We need to make sure this goes through.

Rally organiser Felicity Marlowe of the Rainbow Families Council urged lawmakers to consider the rights of children with the passage of the bill.

Despite talks of conservative MPs knocking the bill down in the upper house, Marlowe said the Council is still -œoptimistic of success.

-œWe’re going to work up until the very last minute, talking to as many upper house MPs as possible and encouraging the community to get family and friends involved-” that’s the best we can do, she told Southern Star.

-œThere’s still time to talk to MPs about the impact of this bill.

The bill is subject to a conscience vote.  Southern Star reported last week the Liberal Party has denied claims pressure had been put on MPs to vote down the legislation.

-œWhatever goes on internally in the Liberal Party is for the Liberal Party to worry about and I think we can only hope that members of the Liberal Party listen to their constituents and listen to the broader community and realise these changes aren’t going to ruin the institution of the family. In fact they’re going to enhance it, Marlowe said.

If passed, the legislation will also allow a smoother process for couples, including gay fathers, seeking access to surrogacy and gaining parent status.

Liberal MPs who spoke to Southern Star about voting against the bill in the lower house said the surrogacy aspects of the bill were -œa bridge too far.

-œThe bill is extremely broad so it’s easy to pick something out of the bill that you disapprove of, but it’s just as easy to pick something to hide your intolerance or ignorance about same-sex parented families, Marlowe said.

The bill will need majority support from 40 members of the Legislative Council and is expected to go to a vote when parliament resumes on November 11.