Civil rights in the Balkans

Two news that I received this morning from B92 service made me happy..
In my country at the moment there's a huge fight against the civil rights (mainly in front of gay and lesbian communities) leaded by catholic church (the Vatican), more and more conservative and obscure.
I think that the extemism is a poison for modern societies, and I can just repeat one more time:"NO Vatican, NO Taliban". Our consciences must be free to decide..

SLOVENIA PASSES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LAW
LJUBLJANA -- Slovenia has passed a law legalizing same-sex marriages but put restrictions on the ceremony.

The measure allowing gay and lesbian couples to register their partnership went into effect Sunday.

However, Slovenia's gay and lesbian organizations, while welcoming the move as a concrete step, criticized the law as "insufficient."

The law limits the number of those attending marriage ceremonies to two partners and a local community registration official. No friends, relatives or any third person are allowed to attend the ceremony, which can be held only in a state office.

Same-sex partners must register 30 days in advance, submitting documents proving they are sane, healthy and unmarried.

Earlier this month, the Czech Republic became the first post-communist country to allow same-sex marriages.


ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION FOR 1,000 COUPLES
BELGRADE -- An expert commission has confirmed the criteria for offering free artificial insemination for 1,000 couples in Serbia.

The program will include women up to the age of 38 who have never had a child or have no living children, and whose infertility is of an organic or unknown nature. The same treatment will be given to men who suffer from infertility and have gone through procedures to remedy this without success.

The commission has stated that it can perform out-of-body fertilization at the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Clinical Centre of Serbia, the Gynecological-Obstetrics Clinic National Front and the GAJ Clinical Centre in Novi Sad.

Every one of the institutions will form a commission which will, on the basis of equal criteria, make a decision on who will be able to participate in the program of free fertilisation, and then a waiting list for each halth centre will be made.

Commissions for married couples will also be formed in the Clinical Centres in Nis and Kragujevac. According to the expert commission, the feritilisation will be performed in the classic in vitro manner, in vitro maturation and microfertilisation.

For the in vitro procedure, 271,284 dinars has been given to the commission, 285,676 for the in vitro maturation proceedures and 287,174 for microfertilisation. The prices include medications, anesthetics, blood mediums and derivatives, and all other needed mterials.

According to estimates, of the 200,000 married couples in Serbia, one out of every sixth couple has problems with infertility.