Surrogacy coalition on the table

Lesbians, gay men, single women and infertile heterosexual people are “reproductive outsiders” who should be working together to push for reform according to family and reproductive law expert Professor Jenni Millbank.

The University of Technology, Sydney law professor is making this case in the annual John Marsden Lecture for the NSW Council for Civil Liberties on Tuesday, November 9.

In Surrogacy, Reproductive Coalitions and Outsourcing Exploitation, she will argue these outsider groups have common goals in health care support, social inclusion and legal recognition when forming families through non-traditional means.

“These goals can be supported from social justice, feminist and libertarian standpoints,” Professor Millbank said.

“More controversially I’m proposing that a coalition of these interests should unite to support the legalisation of commercial surrogacy within Australia.”

Professor Millbank’s areas of expertise are family and relationship law, reproductive rights and refugee law. She is Australia’s leading expert on same-sex relationship recognition and she has been extensively involved in research and scholarship, law reform, litigation, community consultation and activism in this area for more than a decade.

Her current research examines a number of areas in assisted reproduction, including embryo decision-making and the role of law in families formed through surrogacy.

The John Marsden Lecture is named after prominent Sydney solicitor John Marsden, who was long-time President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, President of the NSW Law Society and champion of law reform for sexual minorities.

The lecture will be held in the Grand Lodge Room of the Sydney Masonic Centre, 66 Goulburn St, (corner of Castlereagh St) Sydney, starting at 6.30pm.

The lecture is a free event, but attendees are requested to RSVP to the NSW Council for Civil Liberties. See the council’s website for details: www.nswccl.org.au/events/index.php