The February 2010 ACL Monthly newsletter includes a column from ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace about concerns over the Queensland surrogacy legislation and the need to restore integrity to the democratic process.

Below is Jim’s column:

“It seems that we are increasingly faced with a blatant disregard for what is right these days.

At the time of writing we have the Queensland Government about to legislate for access to surrogacy for homosexuals and singles in defiance not only of Christian opinion, but nature itself.

As with Victoria before it, we have a State Attorney-General, and in this case Premier, determined to pass this legislation – whatever we, the people, think.

In fact to save us having to think about it at all, they have used the age-old political “cunning plan” of introducing the Bill on the last sitting day of 2009 while debating it almost first up in the New Year. However strongly we may have felt on this issue, voicing opposition to it was impossible when our elected representatives were all on holidays!

Democracy, according to Churchill, is the worse form of government except for all the others that have been tried. But it was not meant to be this bad!

Our elected representatives need to treat the majority opinion on the moral character of society with respect – not the disdain evident in the Bligh Government’s treatment of it in this case.

Even allowing the Bill to be split, so that homosexuals’ and singles’ access to surrogacy could have been voted on separately by MPs, would have restored some integrity to an appalling process. But that was clearly not acceptable to a Premier who is committed to anyone who wants to be a parent being able to be one, regardless of the rights of the child.

If ever Christians needed a reason to realise our need to restore integrity and what’s right to our democratic process, this is it.”

Australian Christian Lobby
Canberra, Australia

Tel: (02) 6259 0431

Fax: (02) 6259 0462

Mob: 0448 602 878

www.acl.org.au