Sydney fertility
clinics are scrambling to amend draft regulations on new
fertility laws. Among the many changes that will come into
effect later this year, the number of people a single donor can
assist has been changed from 10 families to five women.
The director of
Fertility First, Anne Clark, told the
Sydney Herald Times
the new rules are not consistent with previous legislation.
"The regulations
say a donor can help five women, as opposed to five families,
which means that a same-sex couple may be in a situation where
one woman has the first baby and her partner will not be able
to have the second baby to the same donor. It is not consistent
with previous legislation, which referred to families
[heterosexual and homosexual], not women."
Additionally, the
regulations, which could force anonymous sperm donors into
being identified against their will, could also force fertility
clinics to destroy any frozen embryos made using sperm from
anonymous donors and push families who want a second child from
the same donor into conceiving earlier than they would like.
(Rhiza Dizon, Advocate.com)
