India bans surrogacy for gay couples and single people

India faces criticism after officials issued new rules barring foreign gay couples and single people from using surrogate mothers to become parents. Commercial surrogacy is a booming industry in India, and in recent years the ranks of childless foreign couples looking for a low-cost, legally simple route to parenthood have been joined by gay couples and singles. The measures mark the first step to the regulation of "surrogacy tourism" in India. The rules say foreign couples seeking to enter into a surrogacy arrangement in India must be a "man and woman (who) are duly married and the marriage should be sustained at least two years". The rule changes, posted on the Indian home ministry's website, were denounced by fertility clinics and gay rights activists as "discriminatory". "Parenting is everybody's right and now we're withdrawing that right," said Dr Rita Bakshi, who heads the International Fertility Centre in New Delhi. "These rules are definitely not welcome, definitely restrictive and very discriminatory," she told AFP. "This is a huge heartbreak for homosexual couples and singles," commented fertility doctor Anoop Gupta. Gay rights campaigners also denounced the changes to the rules on surrogacy, which was legalised in 2002. "It's totally unfair - not only for gay people but for people who are not married who may have been living together for years, and for singles," Mumbai gay rights advocate Nitin Karani told AFP. India is a popular destination for gay couples seeking children even though it remains a largely conservative country and only decriminalised consensual sex between homosexuals in 2011. The home ministry would not comment on the changes which stipulate that would-be parents provide proof that their home country will give citizenship to any baby born of a surrogate mother. There have been several publicised cases of babies born through cross-border surrogacy in recent years who have been trapped in citizenship limbo because their parents' countries refused them passports. Surrogacy is banned in some European countries and is subject to strict regulation in the United States. The new India rules, which also state applicants must apply for a medical instead of a tourist visa, come as legislation to regulate the industry has yet to be passed by parliament. The bill says only women aged between 21 and 35 can act as surrogates but sets no minimum payment for the mother. Critics have said a lack of legislation governing surrogacy encourages "rent-a-womb" exploitation of young, poor Indian women. While the government has been pushing the country as a medical tourism destination, the issue of wealthy foreigners paying poor Indians to have babies has raised ethical concerns in many Indian minds. Clinic owners deny ill-treatment of mothers, saying it is in their interest to treat the women well in order for them to have healthy babies, The cost of surrogacy is about $18,000 to $30,000 in India, said Bakshi, of which around $8,000 goes to the surrogate mother. The figure is roughly a third of the US price. Hari Ramasubramanian, founding partner of Indian Surrogacy Law, said the new measures were introduced without "proper consultation" and needed to be challenged in the courts. "A lot of people who will be affected had seen India as a wonderful option for getting into parenthood and now this option is closed. It's quite sad," he said. Article: January 2013 www.telegraph.co.uk

India surrogacy - New law cuts off Australian parents

Changes to commercial surrogacy arrangements in India, introduced just before Christmas, have cut off one of the more popular avenues for Australians wanting to become surrogate parents. While heading overseas for commercial surrogacy is illegal in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT, hundreds of Australians still flew to India every year to become parents. But now the Indian government has issued a directive that only couples who have been married for more than two years can enter into commercial surrogacy arrangements, and only if it is legal in their home country. Queensland lawyer Stephen Page - a surrogacy specialist who has represented many Australian surrogate parents - says the policy changes in India have already had a huge impact. "Essentially, if you want to go to India in future for surrogacy, you've got to be married for a minimum of two years - gay marriage is excluded - and surrogacy must be legal back home," he said. "The only place where commercial surrogacy can occur in Australia is the Northern Territory. "So unless you're in a heterosexual, married relationship for two years and you're living in the Northern Territory, you can forget about going to India." Mr Page says the majority of people who went to India before the law was changed were not married. "They were either living in a de facto relationship or they're in a same-sex relationship or they were singles," he said. "I believe instead of about 200 children a year being born to Australian-intended parents a year, it will be down to five or 10." He says the rule change will not stop Australians entering into commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas. They will simply look elsewhere. "The strange thing is, it's outlawed at the state level, but at the federal level it's not," he said. "At the federal level, you can go overseas and all that you need to establish is that the child is yours and then the child is entitled to Australian citizenship." Article: 16th January 2013 www.abc.net.au

British comedy series about becoming a surrogate for your gay best friends

Fyrian Films bring you their first project - The first British gay web series and winner of Raindance’s Best Web Pilot Competition in 2011. The Vessel features a young, talented British cast: Phillip Whiteman (InkHeart), Lily Brown (The Friday Night Project) and Giovanni Bienne, with guest star appearances from Robin Soans (The Queen) and Louise Jameson (Dr. Who, Eastenders) as well as award winning stand up comedian Shazia Mirza. "I saw the pilot of The Vessel at Raindance late last year and for me it ticked all the boxes: a persuasive story line, commanding performances and created with a cheeky style that has 'Raindance' all over it" - Elliot Grove, Founder of Raindance Film Festival Synopsis: Rory and Mike want to have a baby together. This is where their best friend Kim comes in. Over ten episodes and nine months we follow Kim as she helps this unconventional family bring a new life into the world. But with boyfriends, exes and conservative grandparents on the scene plus some fiery pregnancy hormones – will Kim come to regret her decision? Is she really ready to give up her body, career, love-life, tennis lessons and, of course, the baby…? The series embraces the topical subject matter of same sex parenting and surrogacy and is filmed ‘Peep Show’ style from Kim’s (the surrogate) point of view you get to see all of the action through the surrogate’s eyes never getting to see her face or reactions. We want the audience to be able to identify with what must sound to most of them like a very alien experience. To make this look as natural as possible we decided to film every episode as a single continuous take – a snapshot into the lives of these three complicated characters. To maintain this sense of reality every episode is shot as a single continuous take and the dialogue stays fresh and spontaneous through improvisation. Web series continue to proliferate and challenge the popularity of their television counterparts. This medium provides a platform for independent producers and writers to create their own work free of controlling studios and commissioners - no matter how small the budget or how crazy the idea. Producing the series in this way certainly brought its own challenges but it allowed us the freedom to tell a different story in the way, we think, works best. We invite you to take a look through the eyes of The Vessel. "The Vessel is original and genuinely funny." - Rupert Bryan, CEO Motion Picture House Broadcast Schedule: - Episode 1 will be released at 8pm on Sunday 21st October. - Each episode will be released weekly on Sunday nights at 8pm from the above date with the season finale on 23rd December - just in time for Christmas! Please place links to our website social networking sites: www.thevesselseries.com, https://twitter.com/thevesselseries, http://www.facebook.com/TheVesselSeries For any producer, director or cast interviews and photos please get in touch here: info@thevesselseries.com

Single man becomes a Dad through Surrogacy in UK

Yesterday's ITV Daybreak featured Kyle Casson, a single dad who Natalie Gamble Associates are proud to be working with on his journey to become the first single parent through surrogacy in the UK. Well done to Kyle for speaking out so bravely, and for being such a great a champion for solo dads. Kyle spoke characterically warmly about his plans to be a father. He has always wanted children, and wants to do it in his twenties (with active grandparents) rather than waiting for a partner who may not come along. He has planned things carefully, is financially secure, has the enthusiastic support of his family, and has a surrogate who wants to help him. You can see Kyle talking about his story on ITV Daybreak here. So what does the law say? The law in the UK has never made it illegal to enter into a surrogacy arrangement as a single father. But it doesn’t make it easy either. Most parents through surrogacy (including gay dads and unmarried couples) can apply for a ‘parental order’ after their child is born. This is an order made by the family court which gives the intended parents a new birth certificate and extinguishes the responsibilities of the surrogate mother. Single parents are not, however, eligible to apply. This means it is perfectly legal for Kyle to have a child through surrogacy in the UK, but the normal solution for families created through surrogacy (designed to give lifelong security and certainty for the child) is not available. He will have to get creative with using law designed for other purposes to secure his family and resolve the position of his surrogate – adoption being the best alternative to a parental order if the family court will agree to help. Natalie Gamble Associates (NGA) call to action On behalf of Kyle and the increasing numbers of solo prospective dads NGA are advising (some going abroad for surrogacy, others entering into co-parenting arrangements. NGA call for parental orders to be made available to solo parents. The law has already been extended, in 2008, to allow gay dads and unmarried couples to apply, and it is now time to allow single parents to apply too. This would bring the law into line with adoption law, which allows single parents to become adopters, and with reproductive law for women which was specifically amended in 2008 to allow solo mums to conceive through donor insemination. NGA frequently see heartbreaking cases caused by the denial of surrogacy to single parents. A change to the law would benefit not only prospective solo dads like Kyle, but also single women who have survived cancer and need the help of a surrogate to carry their child, and widowed fathers who want to use embryos in storage, just as widowed mothers are able to do. And what do we say to people (like the lady on Daybreak with Kyle this morning) who say that such solo parents who want to have children are selfish? Well, wanting to be a parent is something most human beings experience, so it comes down to whether children suffer harm if raised without a mother and a father. This is an old question for non-traditional families, and the answer (backed by long research, including by the Centre for Family Research at Cambridge University) is that children in deliberately created non-traditional families (including solo parent families) have good outcomes, and are in a very different position from children whose parents have separated. It is the quality of the relationships which matters, and not the gender or number of the parents. Article source: 5th November 2012 www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk