Four Times Lucky
An Australian lesbian couple have conceived quintuplets without the aid of fertility treatment – statistically only possible in one in 60 million pregnancies. Melissa Keevers used the sperm of an anonymous donor in the United States to conceive the children. The 27-year-old told Women’s Day magazine it took her a long time to get her head around the news. ‘But now I’ve come to terms with it, I’m excited,’ she said. Keevers and her Irish partner Rosemary Nolan, 21, already have a one-year-old daughter and supportive families in both Australia and Ireland.
Have Your Say
Australia’s peak human rights body is asking the public for their opinion on federal protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity. The Australian Human Rights Commission opened up the consultation process last month which will remain open till November 26; roundtable discussions were held in Sydney and Melbourne over October/November. Currently federal laws protect against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability and age; however there is little protection available for the LGBTI population. To give your opinion to the AHRC, visit the website at www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/lgbti/lgbticonsult/index.html
Silver Streak
Openly-gay Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham won silver four times last month when he competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. The 23-year-old was beaten to the gold in his final event, the 10-metre platform, by England’s Tom Daley. Reports said the pair was neck-and-neck until the sixth and final dive when Daley took the lead by just two points to take out the gold medal. Mitcham was reportedly happy with the result.
Win for Youth Group
Last month, a rural youth group for same-sex attracted young people won their case against a brethren-run camp site that refused to accommodate the LGBTI group. Victorian youth group WayOUT was awarded $5,000 compensation from the Christian Youth Camps organisation by order of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The case began in 2007 when the WayOUT group was refused accommodation for a youth camp on the basis of their sexuality. WayOUT Project Coordinator Sue Hackney told Sydney Star Observer she was thrilled by the win.
HIV Rise ‘Disappointing’
For the fourth consecutive year, new HIV diagnoses rose in Australia, climbing to an almost two decade high. 1,050 new cases were reported for 2009, the highest number since 1993. The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations described the new figures as ‘disappointing’ and called for increased investment in prevention programs.
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