Sgapore’s apex urt grants adoptn orr to gay uple - IRB Law

Contents:

• COURT REJECTS BID BY GAY MAN TO MAKE PARTNER GUARDIAN OF HIS TWO SURROGATE CHILDREN
• ADOPTN OF CHILDREN ACT REVAMPED TO PREVENT GAY UPL OM ADOPTG AND G SURROGAT[]
• ATTU TOWARDS ADOPTN FOR GAY UPL SGAPORE 2019
• SGAPORE’S APEX URT GRANTS ADOPTN ORR TO GAY UPLE
• IN LANDMARK RULG, SGAPORE HC ALLOWS GAY COUPLE TO LEGALLY ADOPT THEIR SON
• ATTU TOWARDS ADOPTN FOR GAY UPL SGAPORE 2019 BY RELIGN
• LANDMARK HIGH COURT SE ALLOWS SGAPOREAN GAY DAD TO ADOPT SURROGATE SON
• PARLIAMENT: AUTHORI LOOKG AT ADOPTN LAWS AND SURROGACY, DO NOT SUPPORT GAY FAI, SAYS MISTER DMOND LEE

COURT REJECTS BID BY GAY MAN TO MAKE PARTNER GUARDIAN OF HIS TWO SURROGATE CHILDREN

Sgapore’s high urt on 17 December led that a gay man uld adopt the son he fathered through an egg donor.

Sgapore’s gay adoptn se may lead to tighter laws to prevent ‘formatn of same-sex fay uns’. Published: 6:30pm, 14 Jan, 2019 Updated: 8:42am, 15 Jan, 2019 Sgapore’s high urt on 17 December led that a gay man uld adopt the son he fathered through an egg donor.

‘A huge load off our shoulrs’: gay Sgapore uple open up after landmark adoptn se. Readg Time: 11 mutLbian, gay, bisexual and/or transsexual (LGBT) persons Sgapore may face legal obstacl unr Sgapore law.

ADOPTN OF CHILDREN ACT REVAMPED TO PREVENT GAY UPL OM ADOPTG AND G SURROGAT[]

This was the se a recent cisn by a Sgapore urt, which rejected a gay man’s applitn to adopt a child that he fathered through surrogacy. When Sgapore announced this week would end a lonial-era law that crimalized sex between men, looked like a big victory for gay rights advot the Southeast Asian untry. That’s bee as put an end to that law, the Sgapore ernment reerated s opposn to gay marriage.

Soon after announcg that nsensual gay sex would no longer be illegal, Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong said his annual Augt rally speech that his ernment would “uphold and safeguard the stutn of marriage” – fed the Constutn as a unn between man and woman.

At the same time, the cy-state is home to var evangelil mega church that preach agast homosexualy. Lee noted his speech that gay rights remas “a highly sensive and ntent” issue to nservativ the untry. To gay rights activists, the ntug ban on same-sex marriage is a signifint blow.

ATTU TOWARDS ADOPTN FOR GAY UPL SGAPORE 2019

So while activists the LGBTQ (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, Queer) muny weled the repeal of the gay sex law, many were disappoted too. And that disappotment will only have epened wh the suggtn by some of Lee’s misters that not only would the ernment rema opposed to gay marriage – may even create extra hurdl to prevent people om seekg to challenge the marriage laws urt. Law mister K Shanmugam said an terview wh state media that Parliament, rather than the urts, would hold the power to fe marriage – effectively makg harr for people to legally challenge the ernment’s polici as several gay men have attempted recent years.

As associate law profsor Eugene Tan of the Sgapore Management Universy put : “Sgapore removed a law long regard as beg discrimatory towards gay men.

In 2012, Gary Lim and Kenh Chee, a gay uple who had been together for 15 years, challenged the law agast gay sex at Sgapore’s High Court. “For , repealg (the gay sex law) was never about gay marriage,” the uple said. “I hope that the nservativ n one day see gay people are not dangero or a threat to them or their children.

SGAPORE’S APEX URT GRANTS ADOPTN ORR TO GAY UPLE

Before 2022, adoptn ed to be an optn for gay and lbian upl who yearned for a child but did not want to go through the travails of pregnancy, failed medilly assisted sematn or surrogacy. Regardg adoptn of children by gay upl, rponnts who found always or almost always wrong fell to 61. 9% found gay marriage always or certa s wrong while 15.

It surprised many the LGBT muny at the time to disver that Sgaporeans were ls opposed to gay adoptn and gay marriage than to gay sex. Attus towards gay adoptn bee progrsively more acceptg over the years as evinced almost a later when a study done by market rearch firm Ipsos 2022 revealed that 51% of Sgaporeans agreed that same-sex upl uld succsfully raise children jt like other parents, and that 49% agreed that same-sex upl should have the same rights to adopt children as their heterosexual unterparts[4]. Developments the late 2000s revealed that some agenci would ask if the prospective adopter was gay.

One male gay uple got their adoptn attempt rejected after the other half was terviewed.

IN LANDMARK RULG, SGAPORE HC ALLOWS GAY COUPLE TO LEGALLY ADOPT THEIR SON

Before the passage of the Adoptn of Children Act 2022, the law was not clear on same-sex adoptn and the MSF's stand on whether gay people uld or uld not adopt was not stated publicly and tegorilly. Some gay upl did manage to adopt but that was the mid-2000s.

ATTU TOWARDS ADOPTN FOR GAY UPL SGAPORE 2019 BY RELIGN

Would-be gay adopters were utned to be aware that when the home study or terview was beg rried out, they may not want to be 100% tthful about their disclosur.

It is important to realise that while would be nice to for lbian/gay upl wh children to stay together forever bee they have been through so much to have children, is unfortunately not always the se. Needls to say, this appli to everyone, whether gay or straight.

In Sgapore, unr the LTCAR, medil practners are not allowed to rry out surrogacy procr for anyone, even married heterosexual upl, so the policy is not discrimatory agast gay upl. Until 2015, Thailand was Asia’s surrogate untry of choice after India closed s doors to gay upl January 2013. She boasted a lucrative, yet largely unregulated, ternatnal surrogacy tra which was particularly popular among gay upl.

LANDMARK HIGH COURT SE ALLOWS SGAPOREAN GAY DAD TO ADOPT SURROGATE SON

Bangkok had a boomg surrogacy dtry wh 35% of tendg parents beg gay men. The Uned Stat’ lenient laws towards surrogacy have ma the untry an ial place for gay upl to fd a woman to rry their child. The stat allow for paid surrogaci and some have agenci that specialise lotg surrogate mothers for gay upl.

Ma article: High Court allows gay father to adopt son nceived via surrogacy, December 2018. On Monday, 17 December 2018, the High Court issued a landmark lg on LGBT rights when approved, on appeal, a gay Sgaporean man's bid to adopt his blogil son, whom he fathered the Uned Stat through a surrogate mother for US$200, 000 (SGD$275, 000).

They first approached the Mistry of Social and Fay Development (MSF) to quire about adoptg a child, but were told was unlikely to remend adoptn by a homosexual uple. Reactg to the judgment, lawyer Koh Tien Hua, who acted the se, said this is the first time surrogacy and gay adoptn had been nvassed urt. Some Sgaporeans are ncerned whether this Court lg sets a precent to allow homosexual upl to legally adopt children, and so dog mastreams same-sex parent hoeholds Sgapore.

PARLIAMENT: AUTHORI LOOKG AT ADOPTN LAWS AND SURROGACY, DO NOT SUPPORT GAY FAI, SAYS MISTER DMOND LEE

Over time, social attus have evolved to greater acceptance of homosexuals.

The Government's policy is not to t or terfere wh the private liv of Sgaporeans, cludg homosexuals, and their relatnships or partnerships. However, we do not support the formatn of fay uns wh children and homosexual parents, through stutns and procs such as adoptn. Therefore, MSF did not support the appeal by the homosexual uple to adopt the child they had nceived through surrogacy, after they had been rmed that the Government would not support the applitn to adopt a child bee this would have been ntrary to public policy.