Current Israeli laws bar single men and same-sex male couples from surrogacy arrangements. However, those restrictions will be lifted by the end of this year.

Although the Israeli government recently stated that it would not be politically feasible to pass a law allowing same-sex couples and single men to become parents through surrogacy, the country’s High Court of Justice ruled less than a week later that the state must pass such a law, providing everyone the same access to surrogacy now enjoyed by qualified single women and heterosexual couples. The high court’s ruling specified that the current restrictive laws, which the court identified as unconstitutional, must be nullified within the next six months.

Ultimately, the term “intended parent” as used in surrogacy agreements will be able to be interpreted as referring to same-sex couples, heterosexual couples, as well as single women or single men. Similarly, the term “recipient,” which refers to the recipient of the egg, will be interpreted as referring to a female or a male recipient.

While people who want to access surrogacy in Israel must apply to and receive approval from a committee within the Israeli Health Ministry, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, a gay man, has publicly stated that the Health Ministry will “immediately get ready to accept requests for surrogacy from men,” and that the committee will “act with responsibility, balance, and especially equality” when reviewing and deciding such requests.

This court ruling and anticipated legislation brings Israel closer to achieving equal rights for the LGBTQ community and is being lauded as a win by gay rights activists and the Aguda, Israel’s LGBT Task Force.

At The Surrogacy Law Center, we help individuals and couples with the legal aspects of surrogacy and assisted reproduction. We are dedicated to drafting comprehensive surrogacy, egg, sperm and embryo donation contracts as well as timely and thorough parentage orders. Contact us today to learn more!