[Source: Original Article]
BANNING gay couples from accessing surrogacy services in Queensland breaches universal human rights provisions, a lawyer says.
The Queensland government plans to make it illegal for gay couples and single people to use surrogates to have children in a move backed by Christian and conservative groups.
However surrogacy specialist Stephen Page of Harrington Family Lawyers told ABC Radio the changes would breach the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the federal Sex Discrimination Act.
"If anything, these children are going to be cherished," he said.
"They're going to be loved and the people that I've seen who've had their children through surrogacy, they love their kids to bits and it makes no difference about whether they're a couple or they're single, it makes no difference about their sexuality."
Professor of public policy at Australian Catholic University Scott Prasser said he believed Premier Campbell Newman had a more progressive view of gay surrogacy than some arms of the Liberal National Party (LNP).
"There's a very very strong conservative element philosophically in that party especially on social issues and I think this is a battle that he would not win," he said.
Since it was elected in 2012 the Newman government has already wound back state-sanctioned civil ceremonies for same-sex couples, which were introduced by the former Labor government at the end of 2011.
[Source: Original Article]
No comments:
Post a Comment