Government would permit fertility treatment for single and lesbian women

Leena Luhtanen

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The Finnish government on Thursday gave its endorsement to a bill for a law on fertility treatment, making no changes to the text, which had been put forward by Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen (SDP). The government’s approval came after a vote.
      The bill does not take issue with the family situations of the women receiving treatment. This means that the treatments would be permitted for single women and women in lesbian relationships.
     
The issue has been a difficult one for the government. Two Centre Party ministers, Minister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen, and Minister of Agriculture and ForestryJuha Korkeaoja left the meeting before the issue came up.
      "I have served as minister for seven years, and never before have I been deliberately absent from a meeting or abstained from a vote. I can say that this is not an everyday event", Pekkarinen said later.
      He added that he would have liked to have gone deeper into certain details of the proposed law. Pekkarinen and Korkeaoja will formulate their points of view on the matter when it comes before Parliament.
      Regional and Municipal Affairs Minister Hannes Manninen proposed that fertility treatments for medical reasons should be restricted to "couples comprising a woman and a man".
     
Manninen’s proposal was voted down 9-3. In addition to Manninen himself, Defence Minister Seppo Kääriäinen (Centre) and Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki (SDP) were in favour of the proposed restriction.
      Under the proposal, a child originating from donated sperm or egg cells would be entitled to learn the identity of the donor at the age of 18. Ulla-Maj Wideroos, the Second Minister of Finance proposed that the information should be made available already at age 15, but her proposal was voted down 11-1.
     
There have been attempts to draw up legislation to regulate fertility treatment since the 1980s. The greatest controversy concerns whether or not the treatment should be restricted to heterosexual couples, or if it should be available to all women.
      The bill is to go before Parliament next week.
      Most European countries have legislation on fertility treatment. Legislation has been seen as necessary in Finland in order to secure the rights of the children, and of the donors of the sperm or egg cells.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Bill on fertility treatment to go before Parliament (26.1.2005)
  Bill on fertility treatment to reach Parliament in autumn (20.2.2004)
  Government withdraws bill on fertility treatment (10.2.2003)
  More manoeuvres over fertility treatment bill (7.2.2003)
  Government to intervene in dispute over fertility treatment for single women (6.2.2003)

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