Earlier this month, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled the surrogacy ban on same-sex couples and single men unconstitutional and ordered the state to lift it within six months. The court rejected the government’s claim that passing a law allowing surrogacy for same-sex couples and single men was politically ‘unfeasible.’
The panel of justices, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut, said that restrictions must be nullified within six months and that the requirements for same-sex couples and single men seeking surrogacy should be the same as those set for women and straight couples.
The ruling said that “[a]s it has been determined that the [current] arrangement is unconstitutional, ‘a lack of political feasibility’ cannot justify the connotation of severe harm to fundamental rights.”
In the words The Aguda – The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, an organization funded by the NIF global network, the decision marks a “historic milestone in our struggle for equality.”