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Law proposal: non-biological LGBT fathers should have the same rights as other parents

Armelle Delmelle
April 1st, 2022


This article is more than 2 years old.

Legislation could be in place by the end of the year, says the minister for gender equality, Trine Bramsen

More fathers are taking paternity leave (photo: pixabay)

The government wants to give non-biological parents the same rights as other parents. To do so, they are setting up a working group to come up with proposals.

The main beneficiary will be gay men, who upon fathering a child who they are not the biological parent of, have to wait two and a half years until they are legally recognised as their step-father.

“Today, the market is completely free, and fathers don’t know where to go to ensure there is proper protection for the women who help men become fathers,” said the minister for gender equality, Trine Bramsen.

As of today, ‘co-fathers’ have no right when it comes to simple things like making appointments with the doctor or being in contact with the nursery. They even have no rights in the event of death.

Citizens’ motion
The law proposal started life as a citizens’ motion that gained over 50,000 supporters in less than two days in January – the necessary backing to be heard in Parliament.

Parliament now faces a dilemma, as it would be difficult to give rights to co-fathers while it is still illegal to give payment to a surrogate mother. You would need to accept the existence of surrogate mothers existence to give co-fathers rights.

It is thought that the working group will also be looking at ways of making it possible for surrogate mothers to take paid leave.

More than two parents
In addition, Enhedslisten would like the possibility of registering more than two parents.

This would permit two fathers, instead of one father and one step-father, but at the same time guarantee the rights of the person who gave birth to the child.

However, Bramsen did not clarify the government’s position on that point.

Bramsen expects the working group to be ready to report by the autumn, and that legislation could be passed shortly afterwards.

“I hope that we can have legislation in place before the end of the year,” she said.


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Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”