Israel has decided to allow same-sex couples as well as single men to become parents through surrogacy within the country, in accordance with a Supreme Court judgement. Some parts of a surrogacy law prohibiting gay couples from having children in Israel through a surrogate had been declared void last year by an Israeli court.
Following a ruling in 2020, the court said that the law that had benefited single women but excluded gay couples had been unconstitutional because it ‘disproportionately harmed the right to equal opportunity and the right to parenthood’. The health minister called it a ‘historic day for the LGBTQ community in Israel,’ adding that the move will enable ‘future fathers, gay couples and virtually every other person in Israel to have access to surrogacy’.
Horowitz, the second openly gay member of the Knesset, said, ‘This is an exciting day for me. As a gay minister, I am well aware of the exclusion and discrimination against us over the years. It’s my personal struggle too. Today we put an end to injustice and discrimination. Everyone has the right to parenthood,’ he said. As a result of the relaxed rules, transgender people will also be included. The revised rules will take effect on January 11.
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Following this development, Israel will join a ‘small group of countries that have ended discrimination against LGBT people to have the right to parenthood’. He added, ‘This has made us one of the most advanced countries in the world’. Surrogacy in Israel is currently available to heterosexual married couples as well as single women with a genetic connection to the baby.
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