Gay rights campaigner criticises UUP 'fertility for all' pledge - saying party's wording is 'exactly the same' as Stonewall

On women’s rights the party manifesto says it will “promote the widely accepted definition of a woman as an adult female and protect women’s spaces, sport and the language used to describe women”.

It also says “We support banning the practice of conversion therapy, introduce a policy of zero new HIV diagnoses by 2030, provide fertility services accessible to all without discrimination, ensure equal access to adoption and fostering and implement a zero-tolerance approach to hate crimes and harassment”.

The pledge to support fertility services “accessible to all” matches a 2022 manifesto pledge, and is supported by the LGBTQ lobby group Stonewall, with whom the party worked in the past.

The policy raises questions about how two men could have rights to fertility treatment without the consequence of economically disadvantaged women – often in poorer countries – becoming surrogates for wealthy gay men.

Malcolm Clark, a gay rights activist who is critical of gender ideology and many of Stonewall’s demands, told the News Letter that the UUP “haven’t even bothered to disguise the fact the wording is exactly the same as that of Stonewall and other LGBT lobby groups.

“Stonewall should cut out the middle men and stand for election themselves and the UU should consider widening their pool of policy advisors to include people who haven’t drunk the LGBT lobby kool-aid”.

Mr Clark, a former LGB Alliance Head of Research, added: “too many gay men appear to think it’s their birthright to expect a woman to give birth on their behalf.

“Babies aren’t an accessory. Every baby deserves a mother involved in its life. If gay men can’t face that they shouldn’t be having a baby”.

The UUP’s 2022 Assembly manifesto pledged to “provide fertility services that are accessible to all without discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation”.

However the party has dropped two other pledges on ‘LGBTQ’ issues since then, including access for transgender people to “timely information, services, support and care” and “universal Age-appropriate relationships and sex education”.

There are no specific references to transgender people in the 2024 manifesto.

While supportive of a ‘conversion therapy’ ban, the UUP doesn’t want any ban to impinge on religious freedoms. The practice is based on the belief that it is possible to change someone’s sexuality.