04.06.2020

Marriage equality – Swiss parliament postpones decision

by Sabine Hannakampf

In Switzerland, the vote regarding the amendment to the law for same-sex marriage was on the agenda on Wednesday. However, after a brief discussion in parliament, the debate was broken off and the decision was postponed until 11 June.

It was clear that the introduction of marriage for everyone in Switzerland would only require the formal approval of the National Council. The majority in the Swiss parliament would vote for a change in the law, this had been clear for some time. Accordingly, on Wednesday many homosexual couples in Switzerland were very much looking forward to gay/lesbian wedding bells ringing soon.

But they rejoiced too soon: as soon as it is about having children, it seems that the unity is over. On the question of whether lesbian couples are allowed to have children through sperm donation, the National Council refused to agree. The dispute delayed the programme, and shortly afterwards the President of the National Council, Isabelle Moret, announced that the debate would be postponed. On 11 June, i.e. at least during this session, a final decision will now be taken.

The vote planned for yesterday was preceded by years of legislative back and forth with countless discussions. Seven years ago, the Green Liberals submitted a parliamentary initiative calling for marriage to be opened to all. But while Social Democrats (SP), Greens, Green Liberals and almost the entire ranks of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) have always been in favour of the introduction, the Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP) and the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) have always voted against changing the law.

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+Die Schweiz will die #Ehefüralle!🏳️‍🌈+ Am nächsten Mittwoch wird die Ehe für alle endlich im Nationalrat behandelt! Aktuell werden in dieser entscheidenden Phase der Ehe für alle vom Parlament zwei verschiedene Varianten diskutiert: Die «Partnerschaft Plus» und die Ehe für alle mit tatsächlicher Gleichstellung. Die Variante der «Partnerschaft Plus» würde zu neuen Ungleichbehandlungen führen und wäre nur in wenigen Punkten eine relevante Verbesserung zur eingetragenen Partnerschaft: So würde der Zugang zum Adoptionsverfahren und die erleichterte Einbürgerung ermöglicht. Doch die Absicherung der Familie und der Schutz von Kindern wird in dieser Variante ignoriert. Die Mehrheit der vorberatenden Kommission und der Bundesrat haben sich leider für diese «Partnerschaft Plus»-Variante ausgesprochen. Doch wir können das nicht akzeptieren. Unsere Position ist klar: Ohne tatsächlicher Gleichstellung und dem damit verbundenen Schutz von Paaren und Familien, kann man nicht von einer Ehe für alle sprechen. Wir kämpfen deshalb für die zweite Variante, bei der gleichgeschlechtliche Paare in allen Bereichen heterosexuellen Paaren gleichgestellt wären. Die Ehe für alle mit tatsächlicher Gleichstellung würde also auch Familien und Kinder absichern und Frauenpaaren den Zugang zur Samenspenden ermöglichen. Das, was für heterosexuelle Ehepaare schon lange möglich ist. Wir geben in diesen letzten Tagen vor der Abstimmung nochmal alles und führen mit den Nationalrat*innen viele Gespräche, damit die Ehe für alle mit tatsächlicher Gleichstellung eine Mehrheit findet!🏳️‍🌈

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Majority of Swiss people in favour of marriage for all

The ball did not start rolling until a survey conducted by gfs-zürich in October 2019 with 1,012 interviews showed that even CVP and SVP voters are in favour of same-sex couples being allowed to marry.

While the SVP stuck to its vote against any changes, the results of the survey prompted the CVP to change its position. Subsequently, the CVP supported a compromise proposal, the so-called core bill, which allows marriage for all and the adoption of children, but bans sperm donation for lesbian couples because

“access to sperm donation for married women would lead to unequal treatment between lesbian and gay couples”.

Whether Parliament will reach an agreement on this issue or whether opening up access to sperm donation – as feared in the key proposal – could continue to pose a political risk to the opening up of marriage as a whole will become clear on 11 June.

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