Comprehensive marriage proposal up for review

The Ministry of Children and Equality is sending out for review a proposal for a comprehensive marriage act. The proposal is for a single marriage law covering both same-sex and male-female couples.

The broad impact of such a comprehensive marriage act is reflected in the proposal that is being presented for review. It includes changes to the Adoption Act, the Biotechnology Act, the Children’s Act and other related legislation. The ministry is also proposing that the Registered Partnership Act be rescinded.

"The goal is to secure the rights and quality-of-life of homosexuals and lesbians," said former Minister of Children and Equality Karita Bekkemellem. "This requires us to actively counteract discrimination while supporting the ability of homosexual and lesbian couples to live openly."

As distributed for review, the proposed act would ensure that:

·          homosexual couples may be evaluated as prospective adoptive parents on an equal basis with heterosexual couples

·          lesbian spouses and cohabitants have the same access to assisted fertilization as heterosexual couples and cohabitants

·          after birth through assisted fertilization, parental authority is granted automatically to non-biological mothers in lesbian marriages, consistent with the authority granted to heterosexual couples

The proposed act would also open the way for church and faith communities to have the right – though not the obligation – to consecrate lesbian and homosexual relationships.

To quote from the government’s Soria Moria platform declaration: "The government will pursue changes to the Marriage Act which open the way for marriage between two people of the same sex, with the same rights as marriage between two people of the opposite sex. The Centre Party's representatives in the government and the Storting are authorized to vote freely according to personal conviction on this issue." Because of this clause in the Soria Moria declaration, regulatory changes affecting spousal rights must be put forward.

The deadline for commenting was 1 September 2007.

The proposal distributed for review can be read by clicking here.