PARENTING NEW YEAR, NEW BABY
Barrie Drewitt-Barlow of the British Surrogacy Centre offers some guidelines on those planning to explore surrogacy in 2012…
With the festive season now upon us, we’re all feeling the pressure to buy those ‘must have’ presents for our loved ones. A few years ago, many a gay man putting together his wish-list for Santa would have included at least five bottles of premium D&G aftershave and the latest trendy underwear. These days, when Santa empties his sack in our house, it’s full of PS3 games and other toys for the kids! Of course, if you’re just starting out on the process of trying to become parents through surrogacy, there’s always next year to be thinking about gifts for junior. If you’re thinking of starting a family in 2012, then these are the steps you need to be considering:
Financial preparation Surrogacy can be expensive, depending on where in the world you want to do it. The USA offers the gold standard for surrogacy, which means there is a price to pay. Always get as much information as possible on the process outlay and costs. Budget for all the fees for the agency, clinic, social worker, legal costs, immigration, hotel, flights and not forgetting the all- important egg donor and surrogate fees. My best advice? Don’t go to India! It may seem a
temptingly cheaper option, but surrogacy for gay couples is illegal in India. Regardless of what you hear from anyone else, it is illegal for same-sex couples and if you are caught, you face prosecution – leading to a huge fine and possibly even
imprisonment!
Legal preparation It’s most important
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to make sure you have legal coverage in your surrogacy journey. There is a list of legal experts available to you from the British Surrogacy Centre, with our recommendations on where to go and what to pay. Don’t be scared into thinking that everything will be problematic. If you can do a lot of the prep work yourself and submit it to a court, this will certainly save you many thousands of pounds. My advice
is to make sure you have a good lawyer, certainly in the USA, as you will encounter many legal minefields on your journey to parenthood. Here in the UK, I would recommend A City Law Firm, ran by Karen Holden. In the USA, I would only recommend Tom Pinkerton, based in San Diego. Both firms are easy to find on the internet.
Clinics
IVF clinics around the world are now accepting that there are many same-sex couples who wish to become parents. Such couples want to use the services of these clinics, and, given the current economic downturn affecting the world, these clinics are now much more readily accepting of our community. This means that we have great power as consumers to shop around and to get the best prices. We no longer have to beg for assistance! There are a few very good clinics that we would recommend, but none in the UK better than The London Women’s Clinic on Harley Street. In the USA, my recommendation at this time is Dr Guy Ringer at CFP in California. Both have a fantastic pregnancy rate, both have a huge gay and lesbian following, and both have worked for many years promoting same-sex parenting. Prices vary a lot between clinics but these two establishments are fair and honest. They want to help you achieve pregnancy first time round, without the worry of how much things are going to cost.
If you are considering having a baby, now is the time to start doing your homework. Costs for many services are currently lower than usual, and the economic climate has never been better. For more information on any aspect of surrogacy or donor insemination, please contact British Surrogacy Centre 01621 878650.
For more information, check the
website at www. britishsurrogacycentre. com
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