Last July, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of lifting the surrogacy ban for same-sex couples. On Tuesday, the country announced that starting next week the ruling will go into effect, finally allowing Israeli same-sex couples to become parents through surrogacy.
Before, surrogacy in Israel was only an option for heterosexual couples and single women. If same-sex couples and other single people wanted to start a family, then they would be forced to look at other costlier alternatives abroad. Though the state argued that the law was in place to protect surrogate mothers, the court decided that this could be achieved without discriminating against same-sex couples.
“It is a historic day for the LGBTQ struggle in Israel,” exclaimed the country’s openly gay Health Minister, Nitzan Horowitz. “[This will] fulfill the dream of many to start a family. Full equality. That is the simple demand, and it is the goal of the LGBTQ struggle, the long struggle of my community,” he added. “Equality before the law and equality of parenthood.”
The law will also grant equal access to surrogate pregnancy for all, including single men and transgender individuals.
