It's not that it'll pass... it's that anyone would even suggest it.

Assisted-reproduction bill would bar singles, gays

Associated Press

 

An interim legislative committee is considering a bill that would prohibit gays, lesbians and single people in Indiana from using medical science to assist them in having a child.

 

Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, said the state does not regulate assisted reproduction but should have requirements similar to its adoption requirements.

 

Miller is chairwoman of the Health Finance Commission, a panel of lawmakers that will vote Oct. 20 on whether to recommend the legislation to the full General Assembly.

 

The bill 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.

 

It would require "intended parents" to be married to each other and says a single person may not be an intended parent.

 

"If we're going to try to put Indiana on the map, I wouldn't go this route," said Betty Cockrum, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Indiana. "It feels pretty chilling. It is governmental intrusion into a very private part of our lives."

 

Miller acknowledged that the legislation would be "enormously controversial."

 

Under the proposal, a doctor could not begin an assisted reproduction technology procedure that might result in a child being born until the intended parents had received a satisfactory assessment. The assessment is similar to what is required for infant adoption and would be conducted by a licensed child-placing agency in Indiana.

 

The required information includes the fertility history of the parents, education and employment information, personality descriptions, verification of marital status, child-care plans and criminal history checks. A description of the family lifestyle of the intended parents also would be required, including participation in faith-based or church activities.

 

The bill does not apply to assisted-reproduction cases in which the child is the genetic child of both of the intended parents: for example, if the sperm is from the father and the egg is from the mother. But married couples who need donor sperm or eggs would have to go through an assessment process and establish parentage in a court.

 

Ken Falk, legal director for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said the bill sets up clear discrimination that would be difficult to uphold in court.

 

"My question is: 'What is the danger that we are legislating against?' Are we saying that only married persons should be able to be parents, which is certainly a slap in the face to many same-sex couples but also to many who do not have a partner but have undertaken being a parent."