Extending eligibility criteria for assisted
reproductive technologies (ART) to lesbian and single
heterosexual women is a controversial topic in Australia.
The media debate after the 2000 legal judgment, McBain
versus Victoria, and the content of submissions to the
2003-06 Victorian law reform process indicate the extent
to which many Australians ostensibly disapprove of unconventional
family forms. In this paper, three dominant themes in
contributions to the public debate and law reform process
are analysed—‘active’ fathering, the
distinction between social and medical infertility, and
children’s right-to-know their biological origins.
The paper argues these themes reveal very different concerns
that do not necessarily reflect homophobia or concerns
specific to lesbian or single heterosexual family formation.
First, the notion that children have a right to a social
father reveals much about gendered contestations in heterosexual
parenthood. Second, appeals to social/medical infertility
and natural families reveal the continuing influence of
Christian views about God-given natural law. Third, the
strength of opinion about children’s rights to knowledge
of their biological origins emphasises the value placed
on biogenetic notions of relatedness even by those more
accepting of unconventional family configurations.
Key
Words – Assisted reproductive technology, access
issues; assisted reproductive technology and kinship;
lesbian parents; donor insemination; fatherhood; children’s
rights
