Tuesday, August 18, 2009

News.com.au - “Christians to fight gay surrogacy laws” by AAP

QUEENSLAND Labor MPs will be lobbied to vote down new laws allowing same-sex surrogacy arrangements.

Premier Anna Bligh has released a model for legal surrogacy in Queensland which is the only Australian state where altruistic surrogacy - where no money changes hands - is still illegal.

MPs will have a conscience vote on the laws, expected to go to parliament before the end of the year after public consultation.

Australian Christian Lobby Queensland director Peter Earle said same-sex surrogacy arrangements would deprive children of the complementary love and care of both a mother and a father.

Mr Earle said the Liberal National Party had given a commitment during the March state election campaign to oppose the laws.

"In the interests of children, we urge them to stick by these commitments, and we urge Labor ... politicians to look to their consciences and follow suit," Mr Earle said in a statement.

"Children are not commodities and their interests should always come before the desires of adults."

But the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities said the announcement was welcome.

"We congratulate the government on bringing Queensland laws up to date with the rest of Australia," association general manager Paul Martin said.

"These changes, if implemented, will bring legal certainty to children of same-sex couples, allowing access to a share of a person's estate or superannuation upon the death of a parent and providing both parents with the power to consent to medical treatment of the child."

But Mr Martin said the government needed to comprehensively overhaul the law, including civil partnerships and adoption for same-sex couples.

[Link: Original Article]

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