On the 28th May 2008, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of the a woman who claims that she was refised fertility treatments on the grounds that she was a lesbian and a single woman.
She was refused access to artifical insemination by Doctors on the grounds that they said it would violate their religious beliefs. Although a lower court held that they could not use their religious beliefs as a reason for refusal, they ruled that discrimination on the grounds of marital status was permitted.
The Doctors argue that they would refuse the treatment to unmarried heterosexual women whereas the woman states that she was denied access to treatment on the basis of her sexual orientation. She has been in a relationship with a registered domestic partner for 15 years.
Given the current Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill debate in the UK over the removal of the requirement to consider a need for a father clause and it being put to a free vote on the premis that it is an issue of conscience, this is an interesting case. Also in jurisdictions that do not permit marriage but have registered partnerships which purport to enjoy the same rights and obligations, this is clearly a case of discrimination.
Read more at 365gay.com
Showing posts with label Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Show all posts
5 May 2008
Free to Adopt
Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society recently wrote 'A Better Blair Legacy' in the Guardian's Comment is Free. His article focuses on gay couples being allowed to adopt and the bitter battle that ensued to minmise exemptions. In 2002, legislation was introduced which allowed gay couples to adopt. In 2006, the Sexual orientation Regulations, were introduced which protect gay people from discrimination in the provision of goods and services. Similar provisions were introduced on the grounds of religion and belief.
The Churches had demanded exemptions from the Sexual Orientation Regulations, saying that it should not be forced into providing its adoption services to same-sex couples. The Government decided that there could be no exemption but allowed a transitional period for the adoption agencies to adjust their services which would mean they would have to open up their services to gay people, or it would have them taken away. faith-based adoption agencies have just until the end of this year to comply with the law.
Well comment really is free - and some of the comments made in response to the article just show us that legislation alone does not mean that we have achieved equality. There are many comments that children are better off with parents of opposite genders and that ir is shown that they flourish better. References to having a mum and dad being normal and advocacy for gay adoption puts the rights of the parents over the rigts of the child. Gay people being allowed to adopt is even referred to as fashionable social exprimentation.
There are comments in favour of course but the negative comments just show that we still have a long way to go. Lesbians and Gay Men do usually have the capacity to bear children - they are not usually born infertile. They have access to means to biologically produce children if they so desire and are able to. Many who wish to adopt, do so because they want to give a vulnerable child a stable and loving home.
The Churches had demanded exemptions from the Sexual Orientation Regulations, saying that it should not be forced into providing its adoption services to same-sex couples. The Government decided that there could be no exemption but allowed a transitional period for the adoption agencies to adjust their services which would mean they would have to open up their services to gay people, or it would have them taken away. faith-based adoption agencies have just until the end of this year to comply with the law.
Well comment really is free - and some of the comments made in response to the article just show us that legislation alone does not mean that we have achieved equality. There are many comments that children are better off with parents of opposite genders and that ir is shown that they flourish better. References to having a mum and dad being normal and advocacy for gay adoption puts the rights of the parents over the rigts of the child. Gay people being allowed to adopt is even referred to as fashionable social exprimentation.
There are comments in favour of course but the negative comments just show that we still have a long way to go. Lesbians and Gay Men do usually have the capacity to bear children - they are not usually born infertile. They have access to means to biologically produce children if they so desire and are able to. Many who wish to adopt, do so because they want to give a vulnerable child a stable and loving home.
2 Dec 2007
Hidden Hate
On the 29th November a committee of MPs approved amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill that will make incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation an offence which is long overdue. None of the Conservative MPs on the committee voted against the proposals. The Bill will now proceed to a report stage and third reading in the Commons before being sent to the Lords. See further details from Pink News.
It was originally thought that the provisions would be extended to cover incitement to hatred against trans people and disabled people but this does not now appear to be the case for definate and is only going to be considered. With the recent murder of Kellie Telesford and the countless murder, torture and brutality of trans people worldwide such as Gisberta, there is overwhelming evidence that the law needs to be extended to cover hatred against Trans people.
Incitement against hatred towards disabled people is also so much needed. Disability organisations and charities report that crimes against disabled people is worryingly common but there is massive under-reporting. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act made it the courts' duty to increase the sentence for "any offence aggravated by hostility based on the victim's disability". The law came into force in 2005, but the CPS only started recording cases as "disability aggravated" in April this year. Since then only 68 cases had been identified, but a BBC Radio 5 Live Report Hidden Hate has new figures showing a third of these were incorrectly recorded.
The CPS says at least 30 cases have been successfully prosecuted and it is "firmly committed to bringing the perpetrators of crimes against disabled people to justice". It points to a new system of 42 area-based disability hate crime coordinators, the inclusion of a new "disability aggravated" category into its monitoring of cases, and a new campaign to raise awareness among staff. The police have also accepted there has been massive under-reporting of the issue. Real levels were estimated to represent a "many 100-fold increase of cases compared to what the police know about" according to Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris in recent evidence to a parliamentary group considering the issue.
Several recent high profile cases have helped bring the issue to prominence including Kevin Davies, who had epilepsy and died after being locked up in a shed for five months and tortured by so-called friends. He was starved, beaten, burnt, branded, cut and neglected until he died. Murder could not be proved because Kevin had epilepsy and it was possible he died from a seizure. The defendants pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault but the case was not investigated as a disability hate crime.
See BBC Article Fears of Disability Hate Crime, CPS Disability Hate Crime Policy, CPS Guidance on prosecuting homophobic hate crime
It was originally thought that the provisions would be extended to cover incitement to hatred against trans people and disabled people but this does not now appear to be the case for definate and is only going to be considered. With the recent murder of Kellie Telesford and the countless murder, torture and brutality of trans people worldwide such as Gisberta, there is overwhelming evidence that the law needs to be extended to cover hatred against Trans people.
Incitement against hatred towards disabled people is also so much needed. Disability organisations and charities report that crimes against disabled people is worryingly common but there is massive under-reporting. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act made it the courts' duty to increase the sentence for "any offence aggravated by hostility based on the victim's disability". The law came into force in 2005, but the CPS only started recording cases as "disability aggravated" in April this year. Since then only 68 cases had been identified, but a BBC Radio 5 Live Report Hidden Hate has new figures showing a third of these were incorrectly recorded.
The CPS says at least 30 cases have been successfully prosecuted and it is "firmly committed to bringing the perpetrators of crimes against disabled people to justice". It points to a new system of 42 area-based disability hate crime coordinators, the inclusion of a new "disability aggravated" category into its monitoring of cases, and a new campaign to raise awareness among staff. The police have also accepted there has been massive under-reporting of the issue. Real levels were estimated to represent a "many 100-fold increase of cases compared to what the police know about" according to Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris in recent evidence to a parliamentary group considering the issue.
Several recent high profile cases have helped bring the issue to prominence including Kevin Davies, who had epilepsy and died after being locked up in a shed for five months and tortured by so-called friends. He was starved, beaten, burnt, branded, cut and neglected until he died. Murder could not be proved because Kevin had epilepsy and it was possible he died from a seizure. The defendants pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault but the case was not investigated as a disability hate crime.
See BBC Article Fears of Disability Hate Crime, CPS Disability Hate Crime Policy, CPS Guidance on prosecuting homophobic hate crime
20 Oct 2007
Pink Potter
Dumbledore is Gay announces Harry Potter author J.K Rowling. Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts school in her famous series of books loved by children and adults alike which have also been encapsulated on film.
Rowling made her revelation to a packed house in New York's Carnegie Hall on Friday, as part of her US book tour. and during audience questions, was asked if Dumbledore found "true love". She responded by saying "Dumbledore is gay," adding he was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, who he beat in a battle between good and bad wizards long ago. The audience gasped, then applauded. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy," she said. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," she added, saying Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down" and his love for Grindelwald was his "great tragedy".
Fan sites have long speculated on Dumbledore's sexuality as he was known for having a mysterious, troubled past. Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she saw the script carried a reference to a girl who was once of interest to Dumbledore. She said she ensured director David Yates was made aware of the truth about her character.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell welcomed the news about Dumbledore and said: "It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society.
"But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance." And a spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall added: "It's great that JK has said this. It shows that there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster."
She said she regarded her novels as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority". But she added that not everyone likes her work. Christian groups have alleged the books promote witchcraft. The author said her revelation about Dumbledore's sexual orientation would give them one more reason.
Rowling made her revelation to a packed house in New York's Carnegie Hall on Friday, as part of her US book tour. and during audience questions, was asked if Dumbledore found "true love". She responded by saying "Dumbledore is gay," adding he was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, who he beat in a battle between good and bad wizards long ago. The audience gasped, then applauded. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy," she said. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," she added, saying Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down" and his love for Grindelwald was his "great tragedy".
Fan sites have long speculated on Dumbledore's sexuality as he was known for having a mysterious, troubled past. Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she saw the script carried a reference to a girl who was once of interest to Dumbledore. She said she ensured director David Yates was made aware of the truth about her character.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell welcomed the news about Dumbledore and said: "It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society.
"But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance." And a spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall added: "It's great that JK has said this. It shows that there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster."
She said she regarded her novels as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority". But she added that not everyone likes her work. Christian groups have alleged the books promote witchcraft. The author said her revelation about Dumbledore's sexual orientation would give them one more reason.
16 May 2007
Nurses win sexual orientation discrimination case
An employment tribunal has awarded a record but undisclosed payout (although thought to be between £350,000 and £500,000) to two women, Margaret Durman and Penny Smith from Cornwall who they found were unfairly dismissed on grounds of their sexual orientation. Both were employed as nurses in a care centre run by Barchester Healthcare and were dismissed in September 2005 with the company claiming gross misconduct after allegations of physical and sexual abuse of patients were made.
The tribunal found there was no evidence to back up the allegations against them, that a proper investigation would have cleared them and that they had been the victims of sexual orientation discrimination.
The tribunal report stated rhat "It is hard to see how any dismissal, conducted by an employer of such size, could be so very bad unless sexual orientation discrimination was the root cause of it. We are not satisfied that a heterosexual couple would have been treated the same."
Miss Durman and Miss Smith had been together for a year when they were sacked from Kernow House care home in Launceston in September 2005. Miss Durman, a registered nurse for 35 years, had been manager of the home since 2001 and both had exemplary records. Following their dismissal, however, they were put on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, which meant they could no longer work as nurses.
They have since been removed from the list. However the effect that this has had on their lives, careers and families will have been devastating.
Barchester Healthcare, which looks after 100,000 peoplenationwide, said its procedures had been reviewed in light of the tribunal findings. A spokesperson was reported in the press as having stated "The sexual orientation of its staff is of no interest to Barchester. However, I could not find anything relating to equality policies in employment on their website.
Barchester Healthcare was named as one of the top 100 companies in the Sunday Times in 2006 but showed a 24% turnover in staff and is named as beong a front runner in good practice in the recruitment and retention of older staff. Obviously it seems if you are open about your sexuality!
The tribunal found there was no evidence to back up the allegations against them, that a proper investigation would have cleared them and that they had been the victims of sexual orientation discrimination.
The tribunal report stated rhat "It is hard to see how any dismissal, conducted by an employer of such size, could be so very bad unless sexual orientation discrimination was the root cause of it. We are not satisfied that a heterosexual couple would have been treated the same."
Miss Durman and Miss Smith had been together for a year when they were sacked from Kernow House care home in Launceston in September 2005. Miss Durman, a registered nurse for 35 years, had been manager of the home since 2001 and both had exemplary records. Following their dismissal, however, they were put on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, which meant they could no longer work as nurses.
They have since been removed from the list. However the effect that this has had on their lives, careers and families will have been devastating.
Barchester Healthcare, which looks after 100,000 peoplenationwide, said its procedures had been reviewed in light of the tribunal findings. A spokesperson was reported in the press as having stated "The sexual orientation of its staff is of no interest to Barchester. However, I could not find anything relating to equality policies in employment on their website.
Barchester Healthcare was named as one of the top 100 companies in the Sunday Times in 2006 but showed a 24% turnover in staff and is named as beong a front runner in good practice in the recruitment and retention of older staff. Obviously it seems if you are open about your sexuality!
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