LGBT Families

Surrogacy programs for same-sex couples do not represent a variation from standard procedures (in countries where access is allowed for same-sex couples too). This aspect is very important because it means both that intende parents enjoy the same guarantees that heterosexual couples enjoy (because of a specific legal provision), and that there will be no variations in the overall procedure costs.

There is not one single price that applies to every case. In fact, the price is closely linked to certain variables regarding egg and sperm donation (if required) as well as to the type of program requested from the IVF clinic. This translates into the number of guaranteed embryo transfers allowed, whether it’s one, two, three or even unlimited until pregnancy is achieved. Once the possible variables have been established, our case histories allow us to state that the average price today for a guaranteed, set-price program, without extra costs and including unlimited embryo transfers, egg donor, surrogate mother and legal support is 80,000 Euros.

The countries where this procedure is legal are United States, Canada and Mexico Therefore, all other destinations that do not expressly provide access to same-sex couples, such asUkraine. The reason for this categorical exclusion is that going ahead with the procedure would be equal to committing a crime in the foreign country, and both parents would be deprived of the right of filiation and risk denial of parenthood in the country of origin.

Intended parents must make up 50% of the genetic charge necessary for the creation of the embryo. Indeed, the ECHR has recognized it as a violation of Article 8 of the Convention (the right to respect for private and family life) when national authorities refuse to give legal value to the relationship between a father and his biological children born abroad through surrogacy. However, in the United States for example, access to the procedure is allowed even without the contribution of genetic material.

In countries such as the United States where the possibility of surrogacy expressly refers to intended parents, there is no variation regarding the procedure to be followed for same-sex couples. Fraternal Twins is a popular surrogacy path for same-sex couples in the US. This program conceives two sets of embryos using sperm from each of two fathers sharing eggs from the same donor. The result is that the babies are genetically related through the egg donor, but each carry the DNA of the respective father. Therefore, that which is stated for this country remains valid on this link.

In those countries in which the possibility of resorting to surrogacy is expressly recognized for intended parents of the same sex, there is no variation regarding the procedure to be followed as far as the law is concerned. Therefore, that which is written on this subject on the country sheet at this linkapplies. However, it should be pointed out that surrogacy in Canada is altruistic and that the search for a surrogate mother might not be easy.

As regards Mexico, that which is stated about the process at the country page in this link, applies. It should be emphasized that legitimacy regarding same-sex couples is stated by the Supreme Court of Justice which has declared itself in favor of the validity of surrogacy agreements entered into between surrogate mothers and single parents on the basis of Article 4 of the Constitution (which states that all people have the right to decide freely, in a responsible and informed manner, how many children to have through assisted reproduction techniques). As for Mexico City, one of the most favorable destinations for the surrogacy process in Mexico, the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Naciòn has also spoken out. A constitutional body, it has emphasized how the absence of regulations on this subject by the laws of individual nations, prevents neither the legal validity of surrogacy agreements from being declared, nor the resulting filial relationships from being recognized. It hereby protects the recognition of respect for the fundamental rights of the person. Constitutional jurisprudence requires the recognition of the filial relationship between the children who are born and those who have expressed the will to be their parents. The same Court has emphasized that in cases where the surrogacy technique has been used for same-sex couples, the parental relationship between the children and both parents of intention must be recognized, with the corresponding entry of all their names on the birth certificate. In fact, this last step is essential for the proper respect for the child's best interest. In this way, surrogacy for same-sex couples is legitimized as a matter of law.

The birth certificate of a child born in these countries will bear both names of the intended parents.