ALMA position statement – 1/10/01

Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology for Lesbians

The Australian Lesbian Medical Association agrees that any woman should be eligible to access assisted reproductive technologies (ART) regardless of her sexual orientation or marital status. Restrictions on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation are discriminatory and should be removed from any legislation regulating ART services. Restricting eligibility for donor insemination to lesbians on the basis that they may not be ‘clinically infertile’ is not medically or legally valid, as this restriction is not applied to women with infertile male partners. 

Sexual orientation does not determine the ability to parent. International research indicates that children growing up within lesbian-led families are not disadvantaged. Restricting lesbian access to ART cannot therefore be justified on the basis of suitability to parent.

ALMA believes that support for the work of parenting is crucial, whatever the family constellation, so that children can maximise their potential and live without fear of discrimination or marginalisation, whether of themselves or their families. ALMA supports the wider recognition of the legitimacy and success of lesbian-led families