Ballots open in Switzerland for the referendum which has now been defined as the one on "marriage for all". An electoral consultation without quorum concerning the amendment to the civil code to introduce the possibility of marrying for homosexual couples and also access to medically assisted procreation through the donation of sperm for couples made up of women.
According to the voting intentions, 63 percent will vote in favor. Support was declared by the government, the majority and some religious circles except the Swiss Bishops' Conference.
Since 2007, when the domestic union was introduced, about 700 couples annually request the registration of their relationship, and since 2018 same-sex couples have been allowed to adopt their partner's child.
In practice, in the event that the yes in the referendum wins, the new law will allow married gay couples to jointly adopt a child if one of them is a foreigner, and a facilitated naturalization procedure can be exploited. Again: married female couples will be able to access medically assisted procreation through sperm donation in Switzerland. Instead, surrogate motherhood or egg donation is prohibited.
(Unioneonline / ss)
