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Referendum Commissioner says #MarRef will give no right to surrogacy

The head of the Referendum Commission says there will be no right to surrogacy as a result of the...
Newstalk
Newstalk

10.31 13 May 2015


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Referendum Commissioner says #...

Referendum Commissioner says #MarRef will give no right to surrogacy

Newstalk
Newstalk

10.31 13 May 2015


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The head of the Referendum Commission says there will be no right to surrogacy as a result of the same-sex marriage referendum.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross has been speaking about some of the issues that have been raised during the campaign.

He says there is no automatic right to have children, no automatic right to adoption and no automatic right to surrogacy in Ireland - and that will not change regardless of the result on May 22nd.

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He outlined the difference between marriage and civil partnership, saying married couples have Constitutional and legal protection - whereas civil partners have legal protection only.

The commission is an independent body that explains the subject matter of referendum proposals, promotes public awareness of the vote, and encourages people to vote.

People will be faced with two questions on May 22nd. Polls are open from 7am to 10pm.

The same-sex marriage question proposes to add the following to Article 41 of the Constitution: "Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex".

While the other proposes to replace wording in relation to who can run for President: "Every citizen who has reached the age of twenty-one years is eligible for election to the office of President."

Mr Justice Cross cleared up some of the issues about the same-sex marriage referendum on Breakfast this morning.

Read our Live Blog of the interview here


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