Israel has lifted restrictions on surrogacy for same-sex couples and single men, following a ruling from the country’s Supreme Court back in July.
The court ruled in July of last year that the state had six months to lift the restrictions, which barred same-sex couples and single men from gaining access to surrogates. Previously, the law – which originally applied only to opposite-sex parents – had been expanded to include single women.
The July ruling followed one from the previous year, in which the court determined that the existing law governing surrogacy should be expanded. However, since the Israeli government failed to lift restrictions for over a year, the court stepped in again.
“[S]ince for more than a year the state has done nothing to advance an appropriate amendment to the law, the court ruled that it cannot abide the continued serious damage to human rights caused by the existing surrogacy arrangement,” the court said in July, as reported by the AP.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister and out member of the LGBTQ+ community Nitzan Horowitz praised the repeal, saying, “It is a historic day for the LGBTQ struggle in Israel and for Israeli society as a whole” the Jerusalem Post reports. “We are putting an end to years of injustice and discrimination – the surrogacy equality revolution is underway.”
Same-sex parents and single men will be able to access surrogates within Israel starting on January 11, 2022.
