Change won’t affect who can be parents

A FERTILITY specialist has spoken out in favour of a “yes” vote on same-sex marriage with a reminder that homosexual couples have been raising children for decades.

Hobart-based IVF doctor Bill Watkins said he believed marriage was a human right that everyone was entitled to, regardless of their sexual orientation.

He said the result of the non-compulsory same-sex marriage survey would not impact demand for fertility services from homosexual couples.

“We’ve been treating same- sex couples for many years, 20 years,” Dr Watkins said.

“It won’t affect what we do from a business point of view at all.

“Some of the ‘no’ people are saying [homosexual people] will be allowed to have babies, but they already can. This argument is really about wheth- er these people should be allowed to be legally married or not, that’s the single issue.”

Dr Watkins is asking people who are opposed to legalising same-sex marriage to write down the name of a loved one, possibly a child or grandchild, who would not have the right to marry if they happen to be gay. “It humanises it and it personalises it,” Dr Watkins said.

“I’ve tried it on a few people. One person really saw the truth in it and tells me they’ve changed their vote, a couple of people got angry because they said it’s too personal.

“People who are going to vote ‘no’ should think about it on a very personal level ... from the point of view of people who are actually affected by this.”

Dr Watkins said more homosexual couples were seeking IVF treatment as society became more accepting of same-sex relationships.