A New South Wales Parliament committee has begun hearing testimony about the regulation of assisted reproduction and fertility support. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Two all-day sessions were held on Monday and Tuesday, with two more scheduled next month.
The terms of reference for the upper house inquiry cover a range of issues, from the economic impact of infertility to barriers to accessing IVF, and infertility education.
Much of assisted reproduction is politically and ethically fraught, but one of the most controversial issues is the legalisation of commercial surrogacy.
Although “altruistic surrogacy” – no compensation other than reasonable expenses – is permitted, commercial surrogacy, in which the birth mother is paid, is banned.
However, demand for surrogacy has grown, especially for gay couples.
In NSW, surrogacy is regulated under the Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW). A Legislative Council committee has been tasked with examining how “to better support families and surrogates through surrogacy”, investigating surrogacy regulation overseas, and examining the possibility of a national legal framework.
Speaking for the Catholic Women’s League on Monday, Anna Walsh defended the Church’s consistent stand on surrogacy.
Although she did not cite him, the late Pope Francis condemned surrogacy as “deplorable” and “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs”.
Dr Walsh’s opening statement was followed by pointed questioning by Greens MLC Amanda Cohn.
“Aren’t you recommending that the whole state of New South Wales should be governed based on Catholic beliefs?” Dr Cohn asked.
Dr Walsh responded that opposition to surrogacy is widespread.
“Opposition to surrogacy is not constrained to people of faith based on some sacred texts that only people who are members understand,” she said.
“Rather, it’s a shared perspective about the human person based on common wisdom which leads to certain conclusions about what is good for society. One of those conclusions is that there is no moral right to have a child, and the state should not grant a legal right to people to have a child via surrogacy legislation.”
Also scheduled to appear at the committee hearings were Sydney Archdiocese’s chancellor Monica Doumit, director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics Dr Xavier Symons, and Australian Christian Lobby ACT and NSW director Joshua Rowe.
The hearings will conclude in late May. No date for the publication of its report has been announced, but it will likely be in the second half of the year.
FULL STORY
Will NSW legalise commercial surrogacy? (By Michael Cook, The Catholic Weekly)
