Breakthroughs in the fight for equal rights are important and can feel overwhelming when they affect the lives of so many people. Israel recently took a major step toward equality, by temporarily lifting the ban on surrogacy for gay people throughout the country. Now, same-sex couples and single gay men will have the option of bringing their frozen embryos from overseas to Israel for insemination via surrogate, so they can stay in their home country and be close to the woman carrying their child.

Hundreds of couples who started the process overseas, because they couldn’t do so in their home country, will now be able to use an Israeli surrogate instead. If the eggs were frozen in another country before the first of May 2022, they can be brought to Israel and legally used. The Ministry of Health made this decision, and it’s being backed by Israel’s healthcare system as a way to help more people build family units in affordable, safe, effective ways.

Not only does this mean more gay men and same-sex couples will be able to start or grow their families, but they’ll also pay far less for the process. That gives them the opportunity to have additional children, which might have been impossible due to cost. Women and couples who need egg donors will pay less, as well, and the chances of people who need in vitro fertilization getting access to that procedure will rise.

The past ruling on ova and surrogacy stated that frozen eggs were the only thing allowed to be brought in from overseas, and the fertilization to create an embryo had to take place within Israel. While the change is only temporary, a movement has already started to make permanent changes to the law and make sure gay couples have the chance to continue bringing frozen embryos into Israel for insemination via surrogate, so they can start or expand their families.

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