IVF campaigner fights for child
IVF campaigner fights for child
Jen Kelly
December 17, 2007 12:00am
IVF crusader Leesa Meldrum has suffered a heartbreaking setback in
her decade-long battle to become a mum.
Having abandoned her bid for an IVF baby after 34 attempts costing
$70,000, Ms Meldrum's quest to adopt instead has now stalled.
She applied to adopt from China two years ago, expecting to wait two
years, but has now been told she must wait three to four more.
"Christmas is coming up again and once again there's nothing for me,"
said Ms Meldrum, who won a high-profile court battle giving IVF
rights to medically infertile single women and lesbians.
"Another Christmas is going to go by and my lounge room is empty when
it could be full of toys and a Christmas tree."
Ms Meldrum - who fought Victoria's IVF laws all the way to the High
Court and won - has vowed to mount a new fight, this time to overhaul
overseas adoption.
Privately arranged overseas adoptions are virtually impossible in
Australia. Couples must apply through relevant state authorities.
Ms Meldrum, who is in her mid-40s and single, wants the Rudd
Government to overhaul the system to allow private overseas
adoptions, strictly controlled.
"Why do we have to wait so long? Why can't we go into other
countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, or wherever, and adopt from
orphanages?" she said.
"The laws need to be changed. The Government needs to be able to find
some way to help. People are just waiting, waiting, and it's
ridiculous.
"If there's a three-year-old sitting in an orphanage and nobody wants
it, why can't I have it?"
Among many frustrating obstacles, applicants may join only one
country's waiting list at a time.
"I just want to adopt a child in the universe who needs a home. I
don't care if it's black, white, pink or green," Ms Meldrum said.
"As long as there's a child who needs a mum, I'm willing to be the
mother."
Ms Meldrum told her story reluctantly when contacted by the Herald
Sun, unwilling to jeopardise her chances of an adoption.
She stressed she was grateful to the Department of Human Services for
approving her application to adopt a Chinese child before strict new
criteria barring single applicants were implemented.
Until her legal fight over IVF, infertile single women and lesbians
had no access to IVF in Victoria.
She visited clinics in Sydney, Albury and overseas.
She took her fight to the Federal Court in 2000, successfully arguing
that restricting IVF access on the basis of marital status breached
federal sex discrimination laws.
The High Court upheld the ruling, allowing many single women and
lesbians to have IVF babies.
"IVF didn't work for me, but I'm not bitter about that because a lot
of babies were born because of that IVF case," Ms Meldrum said.
"But it needs to be my turn."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsu
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