It’s official – my husband and I have passed our police record check and we can now start IVF.
The words on the National Police Certificate dated 4th September read “At the data of issue there are no disclosable court outcomes recorded.” There are five interesting features about this report:
1. The report arrived within a week of being submitted – not the 10 week delay that I reported in a previous blog.
2. That the word “disclosable” is not even a word since it keeps coming up as an error in my spell checker.
3. That I paid $64 for two certificates that state “At the date of issue there are no disclosable court outcomes recorded.” How insulting is that. The report offers the possibility that maybe in the future, I could be in court.
4. This report really it is only relevant for the past, not the future. I could go out tomorrow, commit a terrible crime and quite possibly continue undertaking IVF. No one would be any the wiser.
5. Any other couple who conceive naturally are not subject to getting checked out. Apart from this being discriminatory, it also is a breach of a normal human right which is to bear children.
Victorian Politicians have recently voted into legislation the Assisted Reproduction Technology Legislation (ART). Whilst progressive in some regards, there is a sinister requirement within the legislation requiring prospective parents requiring IVF treatment to undergo Police Clearance checks to prove their suitability.
Politicians defend this on the grounds that it is in the best interests of child safety, but despite numerous written request to various Victorian MP’s, including the Attorney General, Mr Rob Hulls, no scientific or robust research demonstrating increased risk to IVF children vs the general population has been provided to the writer.
This legislation is discrimatory as it targets a minority of the population, it is a transgression of basic human rights and an unwanted or un-needed interference in citizens private affairs by Big Brother Government.
Most Victorians, the writer included, would support initiatives to protect at risk Children and therefore some suggestions may be helpful. Basic Internet research identified that Australian Politicians and Beauracrats may pose considerably more risk to their children than IVF couples. To support this proposition the following are listed:
Milton Orkopoulos , 2008 NSW Labour 13 years detention, 28 Child Sex Offences
Keith Wright, 1993 Qld Labour, 11 years, Child Sex Offences
Bill D’arcy, 2000, Qld Labour, 11 years, Child Sex Offences
Terry Martin, 2009, Tasmania, Court hearing in progress, Child Porn
Willian Stuart Brown, 2000, Ausaid/Australian Embassy Jakarta Child sex offences
Peter Hollingworth allowed a known Paedophile priest to continue working, whilst Archbishop of Brisbane – latter resigned as Governor General as a result of the scandal.
In view of this, it is fair for the population to demand that:
1) The Police Clearance and working with children requirements for IVF patients be removed, or that this requirement be introduced for all Victorians of reproductive age.
2) Politicians should subject themselves to special scrutiny and police clearances before being allowed to have children on the basis that there appears to be considerable more risk of children being abused by politicians than IVF parents.