Around this time six years ago, Ireland became the first country in the world to pass Marriage Equality for same-sex couples by popular vote. Although it was a joyous day for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, same-sex couples still face barriers and struggles when it comes to parenting.
This touching video reveals the struggle for equality that same-sex parents still face in Ireland.
“There is a misconception that with the marriage referendum, equality has been achieved.”
CEO of Equality for Children Ranae von Meding has teamed up with the Irish filmmaker Gerard Walsh to bring us the poignant video, reminding us that children of LGBTQ+ families are #stillnotequal.
Set against the backdrop of Dublin Castle along with a voiceover by von Meding, the video portrays simple family scenes as well as “the anguish of rainbow families who are still not seen as equals by their country”.
The majority of LGBTQ+ couples require Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) treatment in order to be able to conceive a child. However, many children born under AHR are left without any framework to establish a legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents, impacting things like birth registration, citizenship provisions, childcare and/or educational provisions, access to social welfare and succession/inheritance rights.
The Irish Government recently published a report on children’s rights and best interests in the context of assisted human reproduction and if the recommendations were to be adopted, it would address legislative gaps that exist for LGBTQ+ families in Ireland.
Ranae explains, “Professor Conor O’Mahony’s report represents another crucial step forward in our campaign. By adopting all of the recommendations in Professor O’ Mahony’s report, thousands of children in Ireland will finally be able to have a legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents, something that has been denied to them to date.”
Equality for Children has set up a petition calling on the government to act swiftly, which you can check out here.
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