New laws for UK dads

As of next week (April 6th), laws in the UK will be changed to permit two men to be named as parents on a child's birth certificate when that child has been born through a surrogacy arrangement. This change is part of a range of measures that were implemented through the 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.


Current legislation allows heterosexual, married couples to obtain a parental order enabling them both to appear on the birth certificate of a child born through surrogacy. But this option is not available to unmarried or same-sex couples. Currently, the surrogate mother has to be named on the birth certificate and, if she is married, her husband is legally considered to be the father. Same-sex couples can apply to adopt the child, allowing them both to be legally recognised as parents. However, this process is lengthy and costly. The new system will ensure legal recognition of parenthood is made much simpler for gay dads.

Read more about these changes on the UK Guardian website.
The Guardian also has a great profile piece on gay dads. Check it out here.