Sgapore may tighten adoptn law after gay father adopted son | Rters

Contents:

• SGAPORE MAY TIGHTEN ADOPTN LAW AFTER GAY FATHER ADOPTED SON
• ADOPTN OF CHILDREN ACT REVAMPED TO PREVENT GAY UPL OM ADOPTG AND G SURROGAT[]
• GAY ADOPTN AND JUDICIAL DECISN MAKG, SGAPORE STYLE
• IN LANDMARK RULG, SGAPORE HC ALLOWS GAY COUPLE TO LEGALLY ADOPT THEIR SON
• LANDMARK HIGH COURT SE ALLOWS SGAPOREAN GAY DAD TO ADOPT SURROGATE SON
• COURT REJECTS BID BY GAY MAN TO MAKE PARTNER GUARDIAN OF HIS TWO SURROGATE CHILDREN
• PARLIAMENT: AUTHORI LOOKG AT ADOPTN LAWS AND SURROGACY, DO NOT SUPPORT GAY FAI, SAYS MISTER DMOND LEE
• GAY SGAPOREAN MAN N ADOPT SON BORN VIA SURROGACY, URT L

SGAPORE MAY TIGHTEN ADOPTN LAW AFTER GAY FATHER ADOPTED SON

SINGAPORE (Rters) - Sgapore is lookg to strengthen s adoptn laws after a gay man won an appeal to legally adopt his blogil son a landmark urt lg last year, s social affairs mister said on man, after learng he was unlikely to be able to adopt a child Sgapore as a gay man, paid $200, 000 for a woman to rry his child through -vro fertilizatn the Uned Stat.

A urt 2017 rejected an ial bid by the man, who is a homosexual relatnship wh a partner, to legally adopt his son. ”The mister, Dmond Lee, reerated that parliament, sayg the ernment did not support “the formatn of fay uns wh children of homosexual parents through stutns and procs such as adoptn”.

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

Sgapore, which is tryg to boost s low fertily rate, offers genero centiv for upl to have babi but -vro fertilizatn is allowed only for married upl and surrogacy servic are not available for said ernment policy was not to t or terfere wh the private liv of Sgaporeans, cludg homosexuals, and they are entled to private liv of their choosg. Sgapore matas a lonial-era law banng gay sex although prosecutns are onle survey nducted last year showed a slim majory of Sgaporeans still support the law. 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.

GAY ADOPTN AND JUDICIAL DECISN MAKG, SGAPORE STYLE

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.

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

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.

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

“I hope that the nservativ n one day see gay people are not dangero or a threat to them or their children. Readg Time: 11 mutLbian, gay, bisexual and/or transsexual (LGBT) persons Sgapore may face legal obstacl unr Sgapore law.

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. 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

GAY SGAPOREAN MAN N ADOPT SON BORN VIA SURROGACY, URT L

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. 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.