Twenty members of the "Ravnopravno" coalition filed a complaint with the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms against the Ministry of Health, regarding the regulations governing access to medically assisted reproduction (MPO), which prevent access to MPO for same-sex oriented persons and women in life partnerships.
"In the past months, the Ministry of Health passed eight ordinances related to the Law on MPO, which defined the methods and conditions for assessing eligibility and selecting providers, as well as the types of laboratory tests they must undergo. Some of these ordinances are clearly discriminatory in relation to on same-sex oriented persons, and directly, and completely illegally, prevents them from using the rights from the law on MPO", announced from the coalition "Ravnopravran".
They add that by those rules, same-sex oriented people "are prevented from donating gametes, and women who are in a life partnership are prevented from exercising their rights to infertility treatment using MPO procedures."
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"This situation, in addition to preventing same-sex oriented persons from accessing MPO, also prevents same-sex oriented women who need to exercise their rights to infertility treatment using MPO procedures from entering into a life partnership for the reason that if they do so, they will be prevented from exercising their right and achieve," the announcement states.
Bearing in mind the Law on MPO, as well as the Constitution, ratified treaties on human rights and the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, as it is added, "it is clear that those ordinances which deny the right from the law to persons with a concluded life partnership with a person of the same sex are discriminatory, because it is about unjustified discrimination".
"Regarding the denial of rights on the basis of sexual orientation, which is expressly prohibited. Laws and regulations are there to regulate life as it happens, and whenever they do not, their application is both to the detriment of those to whom these laws and regulations apply, and and to the detriment of the state itself," the announcement reads.
The members of the "Ravnopravno" coalition demanded with a complaint that the Protector in this case act in accordance with his competences, determine the discriminatory bases of the regulations, recommend their immediate amendment in order to remove any basis for discrimination in them, and order the Ministry of Health to stop the practice of discriminatory treatment towards to LGBTQ people.
The petitioners of the complaint are Kvir Montenegro, Juventas, Association "Spektra", Association of LBTQ Women "Stana", Center for Civic Education, Center for Women's Rights, Clinical Center of Montenegro, Montenegrin Olympic Committee, Center for NGO Development, Montenegrin Women's Lobby, Alternative Institute , Action for Human Rights, ANIMA, CEDEM, NGO "Prima", Active Zone, Safe Women's House, SOS Nikšić, NGO CAREP and Research and Monitoring Center CeMI.
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