|
(Indianapolis, Indiana) Legislation has been
introduced in the Indiana legislature that would prohibit gays, lesbians and
single people in Indiana from using medical science to assist them in having a
child.
The bill has the support of Senator Patricia
Miller, the chair of the Health Finance Commission where the legislation is
currently being considered.
Miller says that assisted pregnancy is totally
unregulated. The bill would bar any doctor from assisting in a pregnancy
through intrauterine insemination, donation of an egg, donation of an
embryo, in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo, and sperm injection
without making a number of "determinations" about the
"suitability of the candidate.
Women seeking treatment would have to provide a
certificate of satisfactory completion of an assessment required under the bill.
Among the determining factors is a requirement
that the women be married to a person of the opposite sex. The assessment
would contain a description of the family lifestyle and automatically exclude
lesbians. Women would also have to provide proof that they have participated in
faith-based or church activities.
A judge could not establish parentage of a child
born through assisted reproduction without the assessment certificate and a
separate certificate from the physician involved.
Courts would be prohibited from granting a
petition to establish parentage if the parents have been convicted of crimes
such as murder, reckless homicide neglect of a dependent felony battery, or have
a drug conviction.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana president Betty
Cockrum calls it chilling and government intrusion on a person's private life.
The Health Finance Commission will vote
October 20th on whether to recommend the legislation to the full General
Assembly.
©365Gay.com 2005
|
