TWO MEN and a baby?

How does a same-sex couple like Robron go about making a Robrat?

Robert and Aaron are planning to use surrogacy to make their baby dream come true, but this can be a complicated – and costly – business…

IN THE UK...

Although surrogacy is legal in the UK, any agreement can’t be enforced by law, even if you have a signed document. In Britain, it’s illegal to advertise that you’re looking for a surrogate, and paying them anything more than their expenses – which can include loss of earnings, travel, pregnancy support classes and maternity clothes – is also against the law. Typically, a donor egg is implanted in the surrogate via IVF rather than her own egg being fertilised. However, the woman who carries the baby is considered its legal mother, despite it not being biologically hers. Legal parenthood can be transferred by parental order after the child is born. In other words, the baby has to be signed over to its new parents via the courts.

IN THE US...

Robert and Aaron are planning to use a US surrogate, where the laws on the subject are slightly different to those in the UK, although these can vary between states. For example, in California, you can apply for a ‘pre-birth order’ that names you and your partner as the legal parents of any child born to your surrogate between a certain set of dates. This allows you to have both of your names on the birth certificate, which can then be used to apply for British Citizenship for the baby, but the process can take months. In some US states, you can pay for a surrogate – and it’s estimated that the process can cost around £60,000. No wonder Aaron is worried about the money!