World

Australia Targets Single Moms

August 1, 2000 / 6:52 PM EDT / AP

Saying children have the right to two parents, Australia's conservative government moved Tuesday to stop single women from conceiving children through in vitro fertilization.

Prime Minister John Howard announced that his government plans to amend federal sex discrimination laws to let state governments ban single mothers from receiving the procedure, which involves the fertilization of a woman's egg with sperm in a laboratory.

"This issue involves overwhelmingly, in the opinion of the government, the right of children in our society to have the expectation, other things being equal, of the affection and the care of both a mother and a father," Howard said.

The government's decision follows a successful legal challenge last week to Victorian State laws, which had banned single women from using in vitro fertilization services. A senior judge ruled that the laws are invalid because they are not consistent with Australia's federal Sex Discrimination Act.

That ruling was immediately attacked by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell, who said children, whenever possible, should have the love and care of both a father and a mother.

On Tuesday, gay and lesbian rights lobbyist Kathy Sant condemned Howard's announcement, which was also seen as a move to stop lesbians from conceiving through in vitro fertilization.

"This government's shown itself to not always be in favor of human rights in general and it's been quite openly hostile to lesbians and gay men in particular," Sant said. "The reality is that there's a large number of family forms in modern Australia and it's time Mr. Howard ... was willing to see that."