UK to give lesbians equal access to fertility treatment
by Rex Wockner
Originally printed 10/30/2008 (Issue 1644 - Between The Lines News)
International News
A controversial bill that passed Britain's House of Commons Oct. 22, authorizing stem-cell research that implants human cells into animal eggs creating human-animal hybrids, also cleared the way for lesbians to access fertility treatment and for a lesbian couple to be named on a birth certificate as a child's parents.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill passed the House of Commons 355-129 and is unlikely to be further modified before becoming law.
"We've always thought it scandalous that lesbian couples could lawfully be excluded from the safety of (National Health Service) clinics, for which we all pay," said Ben Summerskill, chief executive of leading gay lobby group Stonewall. "Often they've been forced to use unregulated backstreet services instead."
"Children in lesbian and gay families develop in exactly the same social and intellectual way as any others," he said. "This latest step forward for our communities is an important reminder that lesbian and gay families are every bit as loving and tender and magical as any other."
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