A same-sex couple sued the state of Germany because the cost of artificial insemination is not covered. The dismissal of the lawsuit raises questions about equality.
The topic of artificial insemination is currently more present in the media than usual. The case of a US couple whose embryo was mistaken for in vitro fertilization hit the headlines. It was not until several weeks after the birth that the parents realized that their newborn was not the biological offspring. The idea of unwittingly bearing another couple’s child, giving birth and loving it, arouses primal fears. For many couples, however, it is not even an option. In many places same-sex partners are not allowed to perform artificial insemination.
In Germany, lesbian couples are allowed to have children – also via in vitro fertilization – but the costs for the expensive procedure are not covered by the health insurance. This is already the case with same-sex couples. A homosexual German couple has now sued the state. The two married women wanted to have a child through artificial insemination. Sperm donation was out of the question because the person concerned with the desire to have children suffers from a fertility disorder. The couple sees a violation of the principle of equality in the German legal situation.
Child welfare is questioned
When the health insurance company did not want to cover the costs, the person concerned went to court. After the regional social courts in Würzburg and Munich, the federal social court in Kassel also rejected the lawsuit yesterday. The prerequisite for reimbursement of costs for artificial insemination is therefore that there is an upright marriage between the applicants. In addition, the eggs of the respective spouse must be used. Since donor sperm from a third person must be used in the case of homosexual couples, they are not covered by the rules on assumption of costs.
The Federal Social Court justifies the decision by stating that the assumption of costs will also be rejected for heterosexual couples if one of the spouses is incapable of childbearing. The court also doubts the best interests of the child in the case of same-sex parents, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. In the case of homosexual parenting, the child must first be adopted by the non-biological parent. For the court this amounts to an automatic worse position.
Discussion about equality
The decision of the Federal Social Court has sparked a discussion about equality in Germany. The question of what distinguishes a homosexual marriage from a heterosexual one arises. Many critics vent their displeasure on Twitter. Discrimination expert Gilda Sahebi, for example, thinks the state wants to prevent same-sex couples from reproducing. “There you can hang up flags however you want,” writes Sahebi, referring to the rainbow flag, which traditionally stands for the values of the LGBTIQ + community.
The legal situation in Austria is somewhat different. It was only since 2015 that lesbian couples in this country have been allowed to undergo artificial insemination. However, the parents-to-be do not have to be a partner and are entitled to funding from the IVF fund. However, it is just as difficult for gay men to have children in Austria as it is in Germany. The much-criticized surrogacy remains forbidden in the Reproductive Act. In 2014, the Constitutional Court last said that there would be a new decision “in the near future”, according to the City of Vienna.