world
April 07, 2021 – 23:53

Six years after the passage of a law affirming the rights of same-sex mothers, two women in Ireland have become the first to be legally recognized as parents of their children from birth.

Geraldine Rea and Niamh O’Sullivan welcomed their daughters Réidín and Aoibhín O’Sullivan Rea 7 weeks ago, according to The Irish Times. The names of both mothers appear on the birth certificates of the babies as parents.

Such recognition has long been awaited. Ireland passed the Child and Family Law in 2015, but the final provisions did not take effect until 2020. Prior to that, same-sex parents in Ireland were required to go through a complicated legal process to gain legal recognition for both parents. The new law now allows automatic recognition of same-sex spouses, civil partners and cohabitants, just as it would for different-sex partners.

The new parents hailed the historic moment as a great burden lifted at an extremely busy time. “Why do I have to go to court?” O’Sullivan told RT Ireland News. “It is much easier now that I do not have to go to court and prove that I am their other parent – I just am!”

“The road to parenting for same-sex couples is already more difficult,” Rea added, “so getting birth certificate litigation simply makes it a little easier for us and everyone else who will come after us ”.

Civil rights groups stressed the tremendous importance of legal recognition. “It is extremely important for children to have a legal relationship with their parents from birth […] who care for them and love them every day, “Paula Fagan, chief executive of LGBT Ireland, told RTÉ News.

But there is still more progress needed. As stated, the current law does not include male spouses or mothers traveling to fertility clinics outside Ireland.

According to Fagan, lawmakers will receive a proposal later this year – known as the Draft Assisted Human Reproduction Code (AHRB) – that could address those issues. During the work, the AHRB was first published in 2017 and which would regulate surrogacy, embryo donation and stem cell research. It does not currently contain a provision addressing the recognition of two male fathers, but the language is not final.

The existing Child and Family Relations Act of 2015 was adopted after a decade of study, beginning with a report on Assisted Human Reproduction in 2005. In the following years, religious groups advocated against access to adoption, claiming that children would were harmed if deprived of a mother and father – a claim not supported by evidence.

Ireland granted limited civil partnership rights in 2010 but did not address parenting until a constitutional amendment was adopted in 2012. This amendment was postponed until 2015 due to legal challenges.

As this challenge continued, the Child and Family Law was introduced in 2014 by Alan Shatter, then Minister for Justice and Equality, then back in 2015 by Shatter’s successor, Frances Fitzgerald. Because the bill focused primarily on in-vitro fertilization, it only addressed pregnancies in which the newborn mother intended to be a parent.

After a month of discussion, that bill was passed by a 20-2 vote, then signed by President Michael Higgins in April 2015.

Public support in Ireland for adoption by same-sex parents of any gender is around 70%, according to a survey in 2015 when the law was passed. In the same year, an overwhelming majority of 62% of Irish voters approved a landmark referendum to expand legal recognition of same-sex couples. / KultPlus.com

Serbia would be the 48th country in the world to regulate rights and obligations in the same-sex community.

Visiting the show “Questionnaire” on RTS, the Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue Gordana Comic says that the Law on Same-Sex Communities represents respect for human rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia. “People in the same-sex community should have the right to regulate how they will inherit from each other and the status of children from previous relationships.

As she emphasized, the law must not make people unhappy.

Goran Miletić from the Coalition against Discrimination emphasizes that the problems faced by people of the same sex living in the community – inheritance, common property, visits to the hospital and prison – must not be ignored.

“The law will regulate the issues of joint property, inheritance, decisions on treatment and visits to hospitals and prisons, which can now only be done by family members, care for children who were obtained in a previous relationship,” Miletic explains.

Djurdjev: Call a referendum; Comic: The constitution prohibits a referendum on human rights issues

Aleksandar Đurđev, the president of the Serbian League, claims that ninety percent of the citizens are against such legal solutions, adding that the issue should still be publicly discussed.

“I hope that the law will not be adopted, which has already been announced by some deputies of the ruling coalition. More time is needed for discussion,” said Djurdjev and called for a referendum on the issue of same-sex unions, citing the example of Ireland and Slovenia.

Minister Čomić replied to Đurđeva that according to the Constitution of Serbia, a referendum cannot be called on the areas that regulate human rights.

Miletić, referring to the public opinion poll, points out that the LGBT community is aware of the attitude of the citizens, stating that only 23% are for gay marriages, but that more than 80% are for regulating rights within the same-sex community. That law removes the legal gap, Miletic added.

Gordana Čomić emphasized that this is a law on human rights, which does not encroach on the family law, the same-sex community is not equated, we want to regulate the rights and obligations in the same-sex community.

According to Djurdjev, it is very indicative that the Ministry of the Family and the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as other religious communities in Serbia, are not included in the process. The minority cannot dictate to the majority how it will pose itself on that issue, says Djudjev, referring to the alleged position of Patriarch Porphyry, who declared himself against same-sex communities.

Gordana Čomić said that a public debate on the Bill will be held for 20 days, and that document will also be found on the website of the relevant ministry.

Djurdjev believes that the relationship in a same-sex community can be regulated by the existing laws on inheritance and gift. “This is against the tradition and interests of the people,” says Djurdjev, adding that the vast majority of citizens do not know the provisions of the bill.

Miletic: The democracy of society is measured by the attitude towards minorities

Goran Miletić points out that the democracy of a society is shown according to how much rights are given to minorities, no matter how many they were. The LGBT community was the only one in Serbia whose members were threatened with liquidation on the street, Miletic emphasizes.

Comic says that it is about the law on people, behind which are university professors, the LGBT community, that is, people who live in same-sex communities.

Djurdjev reiterates that additional time is needed to discuss this issue. I call on the deputies to vote against that law. It is necessary to go to the referendum and then it would be seen that 90 citizens of Serbia are against, claims Djurdjev.

Comic emphasizes that the most important thing is that when the legal proposal enters the parliamentary procedure, political will is built and that the complete argumentation of each MP is heard at the session.