|
Israeli gay couple gets son in Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 18: India is a preferred destination for infertile couples from the world over but this time it was for an unusual one: a gay couple from Israel.
 |
|
| |
Israeli gay couple Yonatan and Omer Gher is happy about the Indian regulation that allowed them to hire a surrogate mother to deliver their child here. Their first-born, Evyatar, was conceived with a Mumbai-based surrogate mother in Rotunda, a fertility clinic in Bandra, reports Times of India.
The proud fathers are aware of the scepticism involving same-sex parents. "Some say it is a disadvantage for a child to have gay parents. We think it is an advantage as we can't have a child by accident. Since there is so much planning, preparation and travel involved, the child is more appreciated,'' said Yonatan as he lovingly cradles Evyatar in his arms and feeds him milk from a bottle in their Santa Cruz apartment.
Yonatan, who heads Israel's largest gay rights organisation, and his partner Omer are categorical about their dislike for Section 377 of the Indian law that makes homosexuality a criminal offence and feels it's time it changed the Section since the country is so "diverse and pluralistic and shouldn't outcast'' 10% of its population.
Yonatan (30) and Omer (31) have been together for the past seven years and recently decided to start a family. "Israel doesn't allow same-sex couples to adopt or have a surrogate mother. So we started scouting and found that only India and US offer surrogacy to same-sex couples,'' said Yonatan.
They heard about Rotunda clinic through friends and say it was the ‘personal touch’ that appealed to them. "We also thought we could get a surrogate mother here rather than in the US, which is more prosperous.'' The cost too was a consideration. The entire process cost nearly half of what it would have been in the US. "India was also closer to home,'' they said.
India, with its easy availability of surrogate mothers, easy paperwork and cheap costs has earned a reputation for its surrogacy programme, with Anand in Gujarat often being referred to as the ‘surrogacy capital of the world’.
Same-sex couples are the latest trickle. The Rotunda clinic itself has seen 40 same-sex couples since 2005. The clinic's Dr Gautam Allahbadia said they receive frequent requests from same-sex couples from France, Spain and Sweden.
But infertility specialist Indira Hinduja who recently received requests from two gay couples from Switzerland and France says she is sceptical. "There are several factors to consider - will the child get citizenship in their home country? So also, since the surrogate is Indian, the features of the child will be Indian,'' she said.
Yonatan and Omer first came to Mumbai in January for an IVF cycle when Yonatan donated his sperm.
"We were in constant touch over email, sending them the ultrasound,'' said Dr Allahbadia, who said the couple is now keen to have another child and they've requested the same donor so that they could have "real siblings''.
|
