Israel Eases Registration of Surrogate Children Born Abroad

04.12.2012

The state must recognize an Israeli as the father of a child born to a surrogate mother living abroad even though genetic testing was not done to verify that he was the father, an Israeli court ruled Friday.

The decision by the Ramat Gan family court could have implications for hundreds of Israeli couples who have arranged surrogate pregnancies abroad.

Up to now, the state has required tissue samples as proof that a man who claims paternity is indeed the biological father. In the past, only after testing did the state issue passports so that the children could be brought to Israel.

"The requirement of genetic testing is designed to avoid giving Israeli status to children who are not entitled to it, and to verify that trafficking and kidnapping of children is not involved," the state said.

In Ramat Gan, the court ordered the state to recognize a man identified as R. as the father of twins born three weeks ago in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Under Georgian law, the surrogate has no claim to the children. Israeli law does not regulate surrogacy, but after a number of surrogate cases involving Israelis, the Interior Ministry developed a policy on surrogacy abroad. The purported biological father must undergo genetic testing and the purported mother must adopt the child.

The court, which allowed details to be released as long as the biological parents' identity remained confidential, relied on medical and legal documentation and did not require genetic testing. The documents included a surrogacy agreement, the children's birth certificates and medical certification proving the identity of the children and that the surrogate mother had undergone in-vitro fertilization.

The court ruled that the children's Israeli biological mother, who has been identified as D., would be named the children's guardian until the end of the legal proceedings. The ruling came despite the state's request to defer a decision until the court had heard the entire case.

The judge, Tamar Snunit-Forer, noted that the purported biological parents did not simply present a birth certificate to the court but also provided what the judge termed "medical, public and legal documents that make the biological and legal connection between themselves and the minor children."

In rejecting the state's position, the judge said the children's best interests required that any doubts about their background be dispelled as quickly as possible. She said the state's demand for genetic testing raised doubts about the identity of the children's parents.

For its part, the state said "it is the state's right and obligation to demand external and objective evidence, including genetic testing, which is independent and objective evidence as well as the best and most efficient scientific way to establish paternity."

No claim to children

The state has also demanded that the surrogate in Georgia sign an affidavit in front of the Israeli consul there confirming that she is not asserting any claim to the children.

D. and R. were married in 2007. D. later became pregnant but miscarried, during which her uterus was injured, diminishing her chances of having children. After fertility treatments failed, D. underwent unsuccessful surgery to repair the damage to her uterus.

After that, the couple signed the surrogacy agreement with the woman in Georgia. The in-vitro fertilization was performed at a hospital in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
R. and D. filed their case in Ramat Gan seeking recognition as the twins' parents three months ago. Just after the babies were born three weeks ago, R. and D. flew to Georgia.

Yesterday D. told Haaretz she believed Snunit-Forer had made a brave decision. R. said the couple planned to return to Israel immediately to have Israeli passports issued for the twins. They would then go back to Georgia and fly home with the babies.

www.haaretz.com