Israel allows homosexuals to use surrogacy

Jerusalem, June 2: The Israeli government Sunday approved changes to guidelines on an existing surrogacy law which would allow same-sex couples and single people in the country to have children through surrogates, Xinhua reported.

The bill proposal, which would allow expanding the surrogacy eligibility in Israel beyond heterosexual couples, was initiated by Health Minister Yael German.

According to the new bill, any couple including homosexuals would be eligible to perform the procedure with up to two children. It would also allow single person to use surrogates under various terms.

After the government's authorisation, the bill proposal will be brought to the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) for approval.

The new bill would alter guidelines to the current 1996 surrogacy bill, which states that only married, heterosexual couples could perform the procedure in Israel.

According to the health ministry statistics, there were 20 applications in 2000 by heterosexuals to use surrogacy. In 2011, the number of applications stood at 92. Homosexual couples until now had to travel abroad to avail the procedure.

IANS