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ArticlesArticles > What is Surrogacy?
Provided by: http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/0-9/4health/sex/lgb_babies.html
what is it?
Surrogacy is where a woman bears a child for a couple who are unable to have a child of their own. The surrogate mother might use her own eggs or have another woman's egg implanted in her womb. If a gay couple is using a surrogate mother, the egg can be fertilised by either man's sperm. Surrogate mothers must not be paid for their services in the UK and can only be provided with reasonable expenses.
who is doing it?
Although gay men could benefit greatly from this service, surrogate agencies in the UK don't help gay couples. The reason they give for this is that prospective parents need to qualify for a Parental Order in order to be seen as taking part in a surrogacy agreement – and this is only possible if you are married. Despite this, some do offer their services to unmarried heterosexual couples, allowing them to adopt the child from the surrogate.
The only option currently open to gay couples is for them to go to a commercial surrogate agency in the US.
what do you have to do?
1. Go to the US, making sure you pack a large chequebook. Some commercial surrogate agencies, such as Growing Generations, specialise in helping gay couples have children. It could cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds, however – so be prepared.
2. Alternatively, ask a friend. This is a big ask and legally ambiguous. It could also be fraught with difficulties. Even if a friend cares enough about you to agree, she might feel differently when the baby arrives.
3. Once the baby is born, the surrogate mother will have all legal rights to him or her. This legal issues can be addressed by the natural father being named on the birth certificate or the prospective parents adopting the child.
pros and cons
The biggest barrier to surrogacy is cost. Even if you do have the money, you will face other hurdles, not least the fact that your surrogate mother could choose to keep your child when it is born.
The big advantage to this route for gay couples is that surrogacy allows you to have a genetically related child, without the involvement of a 'third' parent or having to enter a co-parenting agreement.
what is it?
Surrogacy is where a woman bears a child for a couple who are unable to have a child of their own. The surrogate mother might use her own eggs or have another woman's egg implanted in her womb. If a gay couple is using a surrogate mother, the egg can be fertilised by either man's sperm. Surrogate mothers must not be paid for their services in the UK and can only be provided with reasonable expenses.
who is doing it?
Although gay men could benefit greatly from this service, surrogate agencies in the UK don't help gay couples. The reason they give for this is that prospective parents need to qualify for a Parental Order in order to be seen as taking part in a surrogacy agreement – and this is only possible if you are married. Despite this, some do offer their services to unmarried heterosexual couples, allowing them to adopt the child from the surrogate.
The only option currently open to gay couples is for them to go to a commercial surrogate agency in the US.
what do you have to do?
1. Go to the US, making sure you pack a large chequebook. Some commercial surrogate agencies, such as Growing Generations, specialise in helping gay couples have children. It could cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds, however – so be prepared.
2. Alternatively, ask a friend. This is a big ask and legally ambiguous. It could also be fraught with difficulties. Even if a friend cares enough about you to agree, she might feel differently when the baby arrives.
3. Once the baby is born, the surrogate mother will have all legal rights to him or her. This legal issues can be addressed by the natural father being named on the birth certificate or the prospective parents adopting the child.
pros and cons
The biggest barrier to surrogacy is cost. Even if you do have the money, you will face other hurdles, not least the fact that your surrogate mother could choose to keep your child when it is born.
The big advantage to this route for gay couples is that surrogacy allows you to have a genetically related child, without the involvement of a 'third' parent or having to enter a co-parenting agreement.