The background for opening a controversial clinic

On 1 October 1997 a law was passed in Denmark that prohibited doctors from inseminating women who were not married or cohabiting with a male. The law meant that single and lesbian women wanting to become parents could no longer contact the private medical fertility clinics.

Storkklinik opens
Luckily, the prohibition only applied to doctors and therefore I, Nina Stork, as a midwife was able to open StorkKlinik on 6 October 1999. Thus, it was once again possible for lesbians and single women to legally become inseminated with donor sperm from anonymous donors, who have undergone a medical examination and been tested for various deceases. 

Debated on several occasions in the Danish parliament
The existence of Storkklinik and its future has been debated on several occasions in the Danish parliament and has been debated as a bill twice.
On both occasions Kristelig Folkeparti (now Kristen Demokraterne - the Christian Democrats) introduced a bill that at the time would have rendered the existence of StorkKliniks illegal. 

In May 2000 this resulted in a voting in the parliament with a majority voting to shut down StorkKlinik, however, this was revoked two days later by Socialdemokratiet (the Social Democrats), which was the government party at the time.

The retraction was, unfortunately, not founded on caring for lesbian and single women’s access to artificial insemination but strictly happened because it very unexpectedly resulted in a majority for implementing a user pays system for all artificial insemination in Denmark, and that was one thing the Social Democrats could not accept.   

In 2002 Denmark had a new right-wing government and the same bill was once again introduced by the Christian Democrats, in hopes that StorkKlinik would now finally be shut down. To the surprise and thrill of many there was now a large majority for preserving the option for single and lesbians to be treated in a healthy and responsible manner and StorkKlinik could continue. A great relief for many. 

It has been interesting to observe which politicians voted for and against. To have an apartheid-like attitude towards which people who should have the option of purchasing justifiable way of becoming pregnant has nothing to do with which party you belong to. So-called left-wing politicians voted for shutting down Storkklinik and several right-wing politicians voted for allowing new ways of establishing families and the other way around.   

Open debate on unreasonable conditions
From the very first day in October 1999 having created such controversial clinic produced an important debate in the press and among politicians. My motives were to shine a necessary light on the unreasonable differential treatment, women without a man were subjected to. The unified Scandinavian press has without exception been positive.  

It requires an attitude to change an attitude
This is why I actively participate in public debate as an advocate for women’s equal right and equal opportunity to be treated equally in the health care system.  

1 January 2007 it was once again allowed for doctors in Denmark to inseminate single and lesbian women
This was due to a general change in attitude in the Danish population and the politicians in the parliament. Such a change in attitude does not happen on its own. The Danish National Association of Gays and LBL has fought constantly and tirelessly through the 10 years women without a man could not be fertility treated by doctors in Denmark.  

The courage to stand up
Another important factor in the processing of attitude for both Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia was due to ALL THE WOMEN we have inseminated at StorkKlinik, who have had the courage and energy to participate in interviews, pictures, movies, radio, TV, newspapers, magazines etc.

Women who have dared to say yes when I have called or written about a ”case” in the media. 

A huge thank you
I would like to direct a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have made available a part of your soul to the unified Scandinavian and North European press. It requires courage to show your life and children off in the media so that ”Mr and Mrs Regular Family” may see that we are not as dangerous even though our families are different and what is most important that our children are just as well off as other children. 

Without your generosity to the press and the case, I do not think that the change in attitude would have happened so relatively fast.  

Nina Stork