Comments on: Liechtenstein Voters Approve Civil Partnership Law

By: jutta

jutta — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 06:15:01 +0000

One more remark: surrogates are forbidden in many European countries – even for married heteosexual couples. There’s a feeling that carrying a baby to term just should not be a service that is available for cash and that poor women should be protected against this kind of possible exploitation.

By: jutta

jutta — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:08:52 +0000

@Tony: We have the same limitation in Austria. Doctors and hospitals are just not allowed to provide artificial insemination for single women or women who live in a lesbian partnership.

Lesbians can of course try to get pregnant by whatever means the think useful (and many do – see my comment here http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/06/18/34343) – But, unlike in the case of regular artificial insemination (i.e. by a doctor) the sperm-donor is a legal father in case of such private arrangements. So he will have to pay for the child, he can ask for visitation rights, the child will later be his heir, etc.

Some lesbian couples travel to countries where artificial insemination is possible (eg. UK, Belgium, Netherlands). That’s expensive, of course.

By: Terence Weldon

Terence Weldon — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:43:03 +0000

This is a small victory, in a small country: but another black eye for the religious right and the Catholic Church, who fought it tooth and nail. (Without their opposition, it would not have gone to a referendum in the first place).

By: Tony

Tony — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:46:21 +0000

@Désirée Thanks. I should have refreshed before I commented.

By: Tony

Tony — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:45:22 +0000

Jim, are they fully banned, or is it that they can’t use the public health system? Are they allowed to pay?

By: Désirée

Désirée — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:28:11 +0000

lesbians can use a sperm doner… they just don’t get the government-provided services that straight couples do.

By: Jim Burroway

Jim Burroway — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:58:15 +0000

Actually, that is pretty common in Europe where Civil Partnerships are first enacted. It’s typically not so much that the Civil Partnership law specifically institutes these bans, but that bans were already in place and the civil partnership law didn’t lift it. It usually takes a few years before lawmakers get around to cleaning up all the stuff that didn’t get impacted by the Civil Partnership law.

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:40:11 +0000

Wait, what? Barred from access to reproductive services? That’s a new one! So a lesbian couple is barred from using a sperm donor, and a gay male couple is barred form using a surrogate?

That’s the first I’ve heard of such a ban anywhere. Insane!