October 04, 2005

No turkey baster for you!
by Jeff Langstraat

File this one in the "What the Fuck?!" file:

Gays, lesbians and single Hoosiers would be prohibited from using medical science to help have a child under a bill being considered by an interim legislative committee

[snip]

There are two parts to the draft legislation – the first dealing with some irregularities in central Indiana regarding surrogacy and adoptions. But the part of the bill raising eyebrows involves assisted reproduction.

It defines assisted reproduction as causing pregnancy by means other than sexual intercourse, including intrauterine insemination, donation of an egg, donation of an embryo, in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo, and sperm injection.

The bill then requires “intended parents” to be married to each other and specifically says an unmarried person may not be an intended parent.

The bill is HFC004 (pdf file) and here is what it covers:

"Assisted reproduction", for purposes of IC 31-20, means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse. The term includes: (1) intrauterine insemination; (2) donation of an egg; (3) donation of an embryo; (4) in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo; and (5) intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Here's my favorite part. The bill actually defines sexual intercourse:

"Sexual intercourse", for purposes of IC 31-20, means an act that includes any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.

I didn't know it was possible to penetrate clitorises.

The bill sets up a series of procedures that "intended parents" must go through, and says who is allowed to become a parent--heterosexually married people only, thank you. The really, really mean that:

An unmarried person may not be an intended parent.

It also bans non-heterosexually married people from entering into surrogacy agreements. The eligibility pre-screening includes gathering such information as the values of the parents and their religious engagement, their financial status, and an evaluation of the safety of the community (sorry to you folks who can't afford to live in the nice, safe suburbs). People whose criminal background checks come back with certain crimes are not allowed to become parents.

Beyond the outrage behind banning certain people from utilizing services that are available, this is also an incredibly invasive law in the types of information it requires and the judgements it makes based upon them. This is troubling as hell, and I'm not sure how parts of it will stand up in Court. But, damn, they're really getting serious about forcibly maintaining heterosexual marriage. They're trying to fuck over everyone.

The bill is currently before the joint Health Finance Commission.

UPDATE: The bill has been withdrawn

Posted by in Bio-Power, Body, Culture War, Culture of Life, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Law, Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting, Reproductive Rights, Sex, Sexual Politics
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Found inOctober 22, 2005 01:03 PM

Say it loud, say it proud!