Brussels conference offers European gay men hope of parenting through surrogacy and adoption in the USA and Canada
MenHavingBabies.org – 5/28/2015
The “Parenting Options for European Gay Men” conference, hosted by the NY based organization “Men Having Babies”, attracted more than 200 prospective gay fathers from 10 countries, and also garnered intense media attention. The conference served to raise awareness of limited domestic parenting options for European gay men, amid increasing political debates across Belgium, France, and the Netherlands regarding surrogacy and assisted reproduction legislation.
With over 2000 gay couples and singles worldwide, including 700 in Europe, the nonprofit organization Men Having Babies (MHB) is dedicated to easing the path to surrogacy parenting for its members. For several years MHB has been providing unbiased guidance and financial assistance to prospective parents in the USA, the UK and Israel. On May 2-3, 2015, the organization held its first conference in continental Europe, in collaboration with the LGBT parenting organizations “Meer dan Gewenst” from the Netherlands and “Gay Surrogacy UK”.
The “Brussels Conference on Parenting Options for European Gay Men” attracted more than 200 prospective gay dads from 10 countries, well above original estimates. The high demand forced the organizers to add an overflow room where dozens of attendees watched the presentations via live video feed. “We were overwhelmed and moved by the large attendance and intense desire for parenting expressed by men who came from not just neighboring France and the Netherlands, but also from as far as Ireland, Portugal and Bulgaria,” said Ron Poole-Dayan, MHB’s executive director.
The conference brought together community activists, medical and legal experts, parents and surrogate mothers. Several workshops and panels offered peer advice on surrogacy and adoption of children from the USA, finding and picking professionals to help in the process, and information about MHB’s Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP), a program designed to make parenting more affordable to those in financial need. “Even with the easing of legal obstacles to adoption by gay men, the reality is that across continental Europe there are very few domestic adoption opportunities,” said Anthony Brown, MHB’s board chairman. “Meanwhile, domestic surrogacy is either illegal or unavailable, and societal attitudes are much more hostile to surrogacy compared with those in the USA and England.” To help prospective parents navigate the precarious legal landscape vis-à-vis gestational surrogacy, the conference offered country-specific panels with leading European legal experts.
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