澳工黨基督教右翼小團體不顧許多不孕夫婦求子心切，力阻代孕母親法案在維州通過

目前因為澳洲維多利亞州的法律阻止代孕母親，許多不孕夫婦被迫遠去其它州尋求幫助，其中包括維州工黨議員和聯邦通訊部長Stephen Conroy，其妻子因曾患卵巢癌無法受孕。

LABOR'S religious Right is on a collision course with party powerbroker Stephen Conroy over a push to legalise altruistic surrogacy in Victoria.

Influential union chief Joe de Bruyn - the leader of Labor's Catholic Right - has written to the ALP's national executive demanding a conscience vote for state Labor MPs when the issue is decided in parliament.

This would give those who share the Catholic Church's misgivings about surrogacy the chance to try to vote down changes being proposed by state Attorney-General Rob Hulls.

Senator Conroy - who sits on the Labor Party's national executive with Mr de Bruyn - and his wife Paula Benson were forced to travel interstate to have their daughter, Isabella, in 2006 because Victorian law makes surrogate births illegal unless the surrogate mother is also infertile.

The bizarre fertility Catch-22 is slated to be struck out when Mr Hulls presents new laws, which are also intended to boost access to IVF services for lesbians and single women by sparing them from having to prove their infertility.

Senator Conroy, who is federal Communications Minister and also a leading player in the party's Right, has been pushing for reform of the surrogacy laws in Victoria and interstate to help others in his predicament.

Isabella was born with the assistance of two female friends - one donated the egg, the other carried the child to term - because Ms Benson, a survivor of ovarian cancer, is unable to conceive.

Although Senator Conroy is recognised as Isabella's biological father, he and Ms Benson have had to initiate adoption procedures to ensure his wife can receive legal recognition as a mother.

Mr de Bruyn confirmed he had requested a conscience vote on the proposed Victorian laws, but did not declare his position on the issue when contacted by The Australian last week.

However, the Catholic Church remains strongly opposed to surrogate motherhood, and a conscience vote would give Labor MPs aligned to Mr de Bruyn's Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association grouping the chance to block the changes if there is support from Opposition MPs.

State backbencher Christine Campbell is believed to be one of several Labor MPs wary about deregulating surrogacy, although she declined to comment when asked about her voting intentions. Sports Minister James Merlino is another SDA-linked MP renowned for his socially conservative views.

Victorian Liberal leader Ted Baillieu has backed the proposed changes and called for a national review of surrogacy laws, although he too could face pressure for a conscience vote from his back bench.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has signalled plans to legalise altruistic surrogacy in her state, and the West Australian Government has introduced laws to allow the measure.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hulls confirmed the Victorian Government was considering the issue of a conscience vote. "When the contents of the bill are finalised, there will be discussions in relation to whether there should be a conscience vote," she said.

"The preliminary view is that the changes proposed are not normally the subject of a conscience vote, but there will be discussions within the Labor parliamentary caucus on this matter prior to its introduction into parliament."