It’s not even related to the child
How sad it is that we can’t do without women entirely, because of that one silly arrangement…
Brian Dowling has set his sights on becoming a first-time dad in 2022.
The Big Brother icon, 43, is hoping that this year will finally be the right time for him and husband Arthur Gourounlian to welcome their first child together.
The lovebirds, who tied the knot in 2015, have both shared their dreams of becoming parents over the years, but the process has been much harder than they first anticipated – partly due to the strict surrogacy laws in Ireland.
The process, you see – it turns out to be much harder than they expected because there has to be a woman involved somewhere along the line, and those bitches are so difficult. And Ireland just makes it worse! It has strict laws about borrowing a woman’s body to manufacture a baby for you! When it should be as simple as hopping on a bus!
As it stands, surrogacy is unregulated in Irish law and mothers of children born through surrogacy, even through gestational surrogacy – in which the child is biologically theirs – have no rights to their children.
Isn’t that what Brian and Arthur want? That the woman-machine they get to make the baby for them has (of course) no rights to their baby?
Brian, who hopes to welcome a child through surrogacy with husband Arthur, told Daily Mirror that he has to remind himself to keep a positive mindset amid the setbacks due to the strict Irish laws.
Has he considered kidnapping a woman?
“This isn’t just about gay guys and husbands trying to have families – everyone struggles. But I think in Ireland, the rules around surrogacy are absolutely ridiculous. The fact that the female egg is put into the surrogate, and then the surrogate is named as the biological mother just isn’t right – it’s not even related to the child.”
“It.”
How are the Irish laws about adoption?
This is exactly the scenario that popped into my mind when I was reading the statement from the ACLU a few posts back:
I would have thought more appropriate wording to refer to abortion rights would be something like “bear a child”. A right to *have* a child means something quite different; more like what Brian and Arthur are demanding. Does the ACLU mean to defend that right? Apart from the implications for surrogacy, what happens if that statement is applied to the case where a woman wants to abort, but the father wants to “have” the child?
Interesting point. I think it’s just a matter of ordinary idiom. “Bear a child” sounds a bit archaic, at least to me, and “have a child” is entirely idiomatic for give birth to one as well as possess one. But with all the nonsense we’re seeing I certainly can’t swear the ACLU didn’t intend an ambiguity there.
If surrogacy is unregulated and the
motherwomb-having thing has no rights, what’s his problem? Sounds ideal for rich baby-shoppers.On the contrary. Because surrogacy is unregulated, the shoppers have absolutely no rights to the child whatsoever; the mother is considered to be the baby’s parent with all the rights and duties, and the buyers cannot demand either the child or their money back if she decides not to hand the baby over.
tigger_the_wing @5
But the article says
Apparently what they mean is that the baby-buyer has no rights (here referred to as “mother,” even though the buyers in this case are both men.)
How are the Irish laws about adoption?
Ireland nowadays is one of the most difficult countries in which to adopt:
From this article: https://www.thejournal.ie/adoption-ireland-usa-4402832-Dec2018/
“In 2017, just fifty-two adoptions were finalized in the entire country, and that includes domestic and intercountry adoptions. Domestic adoption is almost non-existent, and the process of intercountry adoption is like climbing Everest.”
Of course none of this excuses the appalling entitlement of Brian Dowling and his partner. Plenty of gay and infertile couples manage to deal with their private heartache without exploiting other people. John Boyne (another gay Irishman), before he was hounded off twitter, wrote rather touchingly about his sorrow at never becoming a father but finding consolation in being a favorite uncle.
On the contrary. Because surrogacy is unregulated, the shoppers have absolutely no rights to the child whatsoever; the mother is considered to be the baby’s parent with all the rights and duties, and the buyers cannot demand either the child or their money back if she decides not to hand the baby over.
This is the current situation with Ukrainian surrogate mothers who have been evacuated to Poland. Polish law does not allow surrogacy, so the woman who gives birth is considered the mother with all the legal rights and responsibilities that implies.