Media Release: Children's rights paramount

Issued - 7 September 2009

Pdf version: Children's rights paramount

All children deserve the right to proper legal recognition of their mother and father.

"Tasmania's Lower House have been irresponsible towards children by giving legal recognition to lesbian partners on a child's birth certificate", said Peter Stokes, CEO of Christian Ethics group Salt Shakers.

"This further compounds Tasmania's government irresponsibility by allowing same-sex partners access to IVF.

No Government should make it easy for people to do the wrong thing. It is wrong for governments to endorse deliberately bringing children into this world who would not receive the immediate nurture of their biological mother and father".

The proposed amendments to Tasmania's Adoption Act and Status of Children Act creates biological fiction. Children should know who their biological father and mother are on their Birth Certificate.

But in a wider context, "children raised by same-sex lesbian couples face a far higher increased low self-esteem, stress, confusion regarding sexual identity, increased mental illness, drug use, promiscuity, sexually transmitted infections and homosexual behaviour" as Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien points out.

"By denying children the benefits of a mother and a father in a committed marriage definitely causes great harm to a weak and vulnerable minority that we should strive to protect," said Peter Stokes.

We call on the Tasmanian Upper House to totally reject this Bill.

CONTACT Peter Stokes

Executive Director - Salt Shakers

Phone: 03 9800 2855 Mobile: 0413 084 145

Reference:
Comments on same-sex parenting by Cardinal Keith O'Brien - source.