Janet Jukes, Ruth McNair, Felicity Martin, Sam Walsh, Sue West

Legal advisor: Kris Walker

What are the roles of FAR?

The FAR lobby was established in November 1999 to raise awareness of the discrimination and health risks inherent in the restriction of access to assisted reproductive technology specified by the Victorian Infertility Treatment Act (1995). It became a working group of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in December 2002. We have broadened our roles to include

- advocacy for law reform to open access to donor insemination and adoption for lesbian, gay and single people

- community building to create connection between queer people creating families

- community education about queer family formation and support

What has FAR done already?

Members of the FAR working group are actively involved on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian issues, the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health, and the advisory committee to the Law Reform Commission enquiry into assisted reproduction and adoption.

An initial discussion paper was prepared and widely endorsed in 1999 and can be found at the Women’s Health Victoria web site- www.whv.org.au.

In August 2003, FAR organised the Rainbow Families Conference, a community event that was attended by 150 people. The conference report (PDF format - 651 kb) summarises the days’ activities and recommendations.

The Rainbowfamiliesvic email group was established following the conference. This has incorporated the existing FAR email list and conference participants and is open to any person interested in queer families.

rainbowfamiliesvic@yahoogroups.com

What is FAR up to?

1. Law Reform Commission Inquiry into access to ART and adoption

a) FAR has prepared a submission to the Law Reform Commission.

This will respond to the Assisted Reproduction and Adoption: Consultation Paper.The paper is 162 pages long and can be downloaded from the Victorian Law Reform Commission site: www.lawreform.vic.gov.au or contact them on (03) 8619 8619 and ask for a hard copy to be sent to you.

The Consultation Paper provides the basis for discussion and

community consultation about two main questions: the laws which

govern access to infertility treatment in which donated sperm and/or eggs

are used, and the laws which determine eligibility to adopt children. It

also considers legislation which deals with the parentage of children

conceived through assisted reproduction, and with surrogacy.

The Commission is accepting submissions in response to the Consultation

Paper until 30 June 2004. Submissions need not be lengthy; they may be in

the form of a short email, for example. Submissions may also be made in

person or over the phone.

b) Assisting others to prepare submissions to the Law Reform Commission.

a. A submission writing workshop will be held on Sunday 25 April, from 1-5pm at Victorian Aids Council, 6 Claremont St, South Yarra.

b. FAR has prepared a document (PDF Format - 228 kb) summarising the consultation paper and the key questions that particularly apply to lesbians and gay men.

Storage of Sperm by Women using Known Donors for the Purposes of Self-Insemination

FAR is assisting in disseminating information about the Infertility Treatment Authority (ITA) guidelines for “Storage of Sperm by Women using Known Donors for the Purposes of Self-Insemination” . Available to download on the website: http://www.ita.org.au - under “NEWS”.

The guidelines were passed by the Victorian Infertility Treatment

Authority in November 2003 and will be reviewed in October 2004. Clinics in

Victoria, including Melbourne IVF and Monash IVF, have been officially

notified of the interim guidelines. It is now up to each clinic to develop

in-house protocols that allow for the storage of sperm for the purpose of

self-insemination.

Please note: As of March 2004, no clinic has yet developed protocols to

adopt the guidelines, although Melbourne IVF are drafting their protocols. If this process interests you, it is important to contact a clinic sooner rather than later as the ITA intend to review the interest in the guidelines in October 2004.

Participating in the national gay and lesbian law reform meetings
Planning a second Rainbow Families conference for later in 2004

Links

For an excellent summary of the fertility access debate at:

http://www.whv.org.au/health_issues/fertility_access.htm

The NSW Rights Lobby has produced further information about gay and lesbian parenting:

http://www.glrl.org.au

Prospective lesbian parents group: www.vicnet.net.au/~plpvic

This site has a wide range of other links and information.

The FAR working group welcomes new members. What can you do?

Join the rainbowfamiliesvic email group to connect with others and receive regular updates
Write a submission to the Law Reform Commission
Join the working group – contribute to active lobbying for change
Join the VGLRL to participate more widely in lobbying for change
Contribute ideas for the next Rainbow Families conference