Stephen Donnelly vows parents will get ‘full recognition and rights’ of surrogate children

They are a step closer.

Stephen Donnelly has vowed that parents of children who were born through surrogacy will get "full recognition and rights". Following the Oireachtas Committee on Surrogacy’s report being discussed at the Dáil, the Minister for Health confirmed that parents using surrogacy to conceive will soon be recognised as legal parents. He is hoping that the legislation will be passed through the Dáil before July. Current laws in Ireland state that the surrogate mother who gives birth is recognised as the legal mother. If the father of the child is the biological father, he is recognised as the legal father. Any "intending parent" has no rights to the child but can apply for guardianship after two years, however, this expires on the child's 18th birthday. According to The Irish Mirror, Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney, who welcomed her daughter through surrogacy in 2015, told the paper that it was an "emotional day". "It’s another step forward and closer, but my surrogacy journey isn't over yet," she said. "It won't be until I walk out of that court with a parental order and the State recognising me as my child's mother". Recently, Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian's moving surrogacy documentary had viewers moved to tears as they documented their journey to welcome their daughter. The documentary followed Brian, Arthur, and Brian's sister Aoife, who was the couple's surrogate. Viewers were fighting back the tears as they watched the dads struggle with Ireland's surrogacy laws. But the documentary was also full of joyous moments, including the moment they saw their baby's face on an ultrasound.

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