Gay Dads and Surrogacy

With Special Guests:

• Corey Irlam and
• Rodney Cruise.

This week Corey Irlam from the Coalition for Equality and Rodney Cruise from Gay Dads Australia talk about changes to surrogacy laws which could see potentially thousands of gay male couples bringing up children around the country. While society is getting more accustomed to the idea of lesbians bringing up children, gay men doing the same is still something of a novelty. Rodney Cruise and his partner are already bringing up a surrogate child in Melbourne.

A paper has been released on a national proposal for public consultation in a move to harmonise State and Commonwealth surrogate parenting laws. The national Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) and the ministerial councils for Community Services and Health are calling for submissions on national surrogacy regulation.

The paper, A proposal for a National Model to Harmonise Regulation of Surrogacy, makes a number of recommendations including that people who use a surrogate mother would be able to apply for legal recognition as the child’s parents and that the differing state laws be harmonised. Other regulations under review include paying a surrogate mother’s medical costs, financial losses during and other expenses during pregnancy. But commercial surrogacy would remain illegal in Australia, the paper recommends.

Submissions Close on 16 April 2009.

Corey Irlam, spokesperson for the Australian Coalition for Equality said he was optimistic that surrogacy laws would be updated as a result. He argues that children growing up with gay parents suffer no disadvantage, while Cruise says he and his partner have experienced no hostility in the community since entering into a surrogacy arrangement with an American woman two years ago.

The Coaltion is dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Australian national law and policy. They are an organisation working for equality for same-sex couples in areas like superannuation, workplace benefits and equality for families headed by same-sex couples.

http://www.coalitionforequality.org.au

Our next guest Rodney Cruise is one of the Co-Moderators of Gay Dads Australia (www.gaydadsaustralia.com). He and his partner, Jeff, have a child (Ethan) via surrogacy who is two years old. They live in Melbourne.

Gay Dads Australia is a social, support and information network for gay men who are dads or for those interested in exploring the options to become one. The website provides information on surrogacy, fostering, adoption, co-parenting, known donor and being a dad from a previous straight relationship. Active email and social groups exist in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

http://www.gaydadsaustralia.com

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