Swiss voters approve law allowing same-sex marriages

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Until now, same-sex couples could not use Swiss sperm banks. They are also prohibited from adopting children, although singles are allowed to do so.

“This is clearly discrimination based on sexual orientation,” said Maria von Känel, chair of the committee leading the “yes” campaign and herself in a same-sex partnership with two children.

“Everyone should be treated equally,” she said.

Swiss LGBTQ organizations estimate that up to 30,000 children are currently being raised by same-sex parents in Switzerland, but legal barriers in the country have forced many of these couples to move abroad to start their families.

Using images of crying babies on posters plastered in cities across Switzerland, opponents focused their campaign on their opposition to the right of same-sex couples to have children.

Daniel Frischknecht, one of the leaders in opposition to the proposed legal change, said supporters of the ‘no’ campaign oppose the change in marriage laws because they believe it undermines the law. traditional families. “We are convinced that in order for children to grow up as well as possible, they need a father and a mother,” he said.

For opponents, the vote was not just about same-sex marriage and Mr Frischknecht compared its importance to Swiss society to breaking a roadblock. “This will go on and on,” he said, referring to the legalization of additional options for couples to have children, such as surrogacy or the use of donor eggs. “We will save what there is to be saved,” he said.

Despite the changes to the marriage law, Ms von Känel said there were still some important points that she had not taken into account, for example whether both parents would be entitled to parental leave, including in situations where couples undergo assisted reproduction or fertility. treatment abroad.

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