The Local:

The Centre Party, Liberals (Folkpartiet) and the Moderates want single women to have access to artificial insemination treatment, and are proposing a change to current laws despite opposition from coalition partners the Christian Democrats.

"We are convinced that people's fitness to be parents is not determined by whether one lives in a committed relationship or not," prominent MPs from the three parties wrote in a opinion piece in Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) where they proposed a legislative change.

In April last year, the Christian Democrats voted against a similar proposed change, and all the other parties in the centre-right governing Alliance coalition also chose to vote no.

Sweden, which is considered a world leader in gender equality and minority rights, has allowed lesbian couples to undergo artificial insemination since 2005 and allows gay couples to adopt children.

... The Christian Democrats have not changed their opinion on the matter, however.

“We think this is a really bad idea. All children are entitled to their parents. What’s happening here is that they are creating a law that abolishes some children’s right to a parent,” said party leader Göran Hägglund to TT.

He said that the need for parental presence in all other areas is highlighted in society.

“We need more fathers in children's lives, not fewer,” he said.