Ban on assisted conception for lesbians lifted
by Søren laursen, LGBT Danmark, the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians
From January 1, 2007 lesbians and single women have the same access to fertility treament as other women. The law on assisted conception has become neutral to sexual orientation. Nine years of criminalization has come to an end.
In 1997 Danmark got its law an assisted conception. Before there were no legal regulation. Before the law was passed a ban on assisted conception for lesbians and single women was added. Since then removal or weakening of the ban has been attempted several times. May 24 was the ninth attempt, and with a majority of a single vote – 53-52 – the proposal was surprisingly passed.
This was during the second parliamental hearing of a law proposal on the revision of the law on assisted conception. For the third hearing there were two new proposals: one was to reintroduce the ban, the second was to deprive lesbians and single women access to funding for fertility treatment in the public health care. Both fell.
Passing of the law was a crisis for the Danish liberal-conservative government.The original proposal for a law revision came from the minister of health. The opposition proposed to include a lifting of the ban, which was strongly opposed by the conservatives. Several members of the liberal party, however, decided to vote in favour of it. The prime minister and the vice-prime minister had several meetings on the subject, and for the final passing of the law proposal, the whole government voted neutral, neither yes nor no.
The Danish law on assisted conception rules only the doctors, but not e.g. midwifes. Because of this midwife Nina Stork was able at the second anniversory of the law to make an insemination clinic open to lesbians and single women. However infertile lesbians had no possibility for treatment.
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