Advocating for Legislative Change to Surrogacy Laws in Australia
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21 March 2024
GDWA with members of Surrogacy WA, had the honour of meeting the Western Australia Premier, Roger Cook, with Peter Foster MLC.
The Premier listened attentively to our stories and shared his compassion and determination to enable Australians to have Australian children on Australian soil. He talked about the importance of families and community and his commitment to make legislative change for WA families.
It was an honour to have had this opportunity with the Premier and we, like so many other WA families, look forward to seeing the new laws that will impact future families and create protections for children born through surrogacy.
By Paul Hadfield via LinkedIn.
"Becoming a father is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It changed my perspective on many things, including how I perceived career and work. I became a father via a wonderful American surrogacy birth in 2021, in the middle of Covid. America was one of the few options we had, as there is no provision for men to have children via surrogacy in Western Australia (WA). Since becoming a proud father, I have advocated for WA legislative reforms. Part of this advocacy was to raise awareness and acceptance of Gay Dads WA which now has over 300 members of current dads and intended dads. Also advocating for change through newspapers, radio, TV, social media, and meeting with WA Members of Parliament, have all been ways of raising awareness for legislative reform.
Today I had the honour of meeting the Western Australia Premier, Roger Cook. Together with my partner and several other families that have been involved in surrogacy, we had the opportunity to share our stories with the Premier and advocate for change. Along with Hon. Peter Foster MLC, we had a husband and wife that had twins via surrogacy in the Ukraine because it is too challenging a process in WA, a WA woman that approached a gay couple to be a surrogate for them resulting in them having to move state due to the local legislation, and an intended father who is ready to begin his journey but waiting for the laws to change. My family's story is one where a cancer scare could have potentially resulted in our daughter going into the care system because my partner is not legally recognised under WA law, potentially losing not one parent but two.
The Premier listened attentively to our stories and shared his compassion and determination to enable Australians to have Australian children on Australian soil. He talked about the importance of families and community and his commitment to make legislative change for WA families.
It was an honour to have had this opportunity with the Premier and we, like so many other WA families, look forward to seeing the new laws that will impact future families and create protections for children born through surrogacy."
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Lisa M published this page in News and Updates 2024-04-17 13:22:22 +1000