The Minister of Health of Israel said on Tuesday that following the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, same-sex couples will have children through surrogate mothers in Israel starting next week.

The court repealed part of the surrogacy law in July, which prohibits gay couples from having children through surrogacy in Israel. This move came after the court ruled in 2020 that the law expanded the access scope of single women but excluded gay couples, “disproportionately undermining the rights of equality and parenthood” and is illegal. It gave the government of then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a year to enact the new law, but the parliament failed to complete the deadline.

The court said last year that it would take six months for the changes to the law to take effect on January 11 in order to form a professional guide.

“Complete equality. This is a simple requirement, and it is also the goal of the LGBT struggle, and it is also a long-term struggle for our community,” said Nitzan Horowitz, the publicly gay Minister of Health. “Everyone is equal before the law, and parents are equal.” Horowitz said that changes in the law have also expanded surrogacy to single men and transgender people.

According to previous regulations, Israeli same-sex couples who wish to become parents cannot hire an agent and are often discouraged by the additional cost of finding an agent abroad.

The state argued that the law was designed to protect surrogate mothers, but the court ruled that a balance can be struck without discrimination.

Compared with most of the conservative Middle East, Israel is generally tolerant of its LGBTQ community. Homosexuals serve openly in the Israeli army and parliament, and many popular artists and entertainers are openly homosexuals. Despite this, obstacles—including notarized marriages that do not allow same-sex marriages— still exist.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times