FEATURE | Same-Sex Surrogacy Male Centric

Home » FEATURE | Same-Sex Surrogacy Male Centric

Our series of features on same-sex parenting this time looks at the industry from the perspective of gay couples.  Are men really afforded the same privileges as women, and what are the attitudes surrounding fathers?

It’s every woman’s right to have a child, correct? But what about when you’ve dreamed of being a father ever since you can remember?

 Back in April, the law changed to allow gay male couples to have both their names on a child’s birth certificate. Prior to this, only heterosexual couples were allowed to do this. The law change meant that same-sex couples could finally be recognised as official parents.

 So you’re finally allowed. Hurrah. But how do you get to that joyous day?

 The landscape for gay men and child-rearing is muddy as you might expect. Society accepts that women have ‘the right’ to have children but does it hold the same view for men? And what are the options for men who want to reproduce without being in a relationship with a woman?

 You can, of course, pass on your genes by donating sperm without taking any parental responsibility, or you could opt to co-parent with a single woman, gay woman or consenting couple.

 You can also donate to an unknown person through a fertility clinic but the law change in 2005 means that your biological child can trace its biological father when it’s 18. Some gay men donate to friends or through a connection service such as Pride Angel or Gay Family Web.

 Pride Angels is a site dedicated to connecting sperm donors, egg donors and co-parents. The free-registration site also specialises in health screening advice, fertility law support, artificial insemination and fertility products.

 Same-sex couples have been allowed to legally adopt in the UK since 2002, but surrogacy is usually the preferable option for gay men who wish to become full-time parents. In surrogacy, a woman carries the baby using her own eggs or those of another egg donor.

 The new law states that provided a court is satisfied that two men are in a stable relationship, that no fees – beyond expenses – are paid to the surrogate mother and that it is in the child’s best interest, then it will award a parental order for a birth certificate to be drawn up with both men named as parents and therefore legal guardians. This makes it much easier for gay men to father their own children naturally, meaning that adoption is not the only option.

 Special provision was also made for gay couples who could not previously apply so that those with existing surrogate children born before April 6, 2010, were given until October 5, 2010 to apply.

 Though surrogacy in the UK is legal, the UK system means that if the surrogate decides that they have…. For more of this feature please subscribe…