On November 6, the NA Committee on Social Affairs passed a draft law on Marriage and Family which gives approval to surrogate pregnancy, but not same-sex marriage.
 |
| Truong Thi Mai, head of the NA Committee on Social Affairs |
There are people opposed surrogate pregnancy because it is a sensitive matter. They also said that it could lead to complicated legal problems if the couple and surrogate mother have a dispute. Many other countries have banned surrogate pregnancy for the same reasons.
However, the committee still approved and said they will issue a more detailed set of regulations to protect everybody's rights. According to the committee, surrogate pregnancy can be done for humanitarian reasons and people will seek out this service in any case, so they need to issue regulations to deal with possible consequences.
In the meantime, they refused to recognise same-sex marriage because 'there are too many opposing opinions on the matter'.
In recent years, people's views on this matter has changed significantly. Lifting the ban on same-sex marriage not only can reduce prejudice against homosexuals, bi-sexuals and transgenders, but it can also help to deal with legal matters created when two people live together.
Still, there are many opposed to same-sex marriage, who say that it clashes with Vietnam's traditions and does not ensure the continuation of human species.
Truong Thi Mai, head of the committee said, "The committee agreed that we should not encourage same-sex marriage. We'll have to do more research into the subject and learn from other countries' experience in the matter in order to make a final decision."
The draft law affirmed that the government would not ban people from holding same-sex marriage ceremonies, but it would not recognise these relationship under the law. At the same time, they pledged to add more regulations to deal with legal problems of same-sex couples who live together.