Judge rules in favor of lesbian couple’s parental recognition

A Hong Kong judge ruled yesterday in favor of a lesbian couple’s parental recognition of their son born through reciprocal in vitro fertilization in a landmark case.

The couple, identified as B and R, underwent the medical procedure in South Africa in 2020 after getting married in the country. During the treatment, an egg was extracted from R and was fertilized with sperm from an anonymous male donor to create an embryo, which was then transferred to B’s womb. The boy was born in Hong Kong in 2021, but only B was listed as his mother on his birth certificate.

Judge Russell Coleman’s ruling over the judicial challenge was a step forward for the LGBTQ+ movement in a city that does not endorse same-sex marriages but is working toward a framework to recognize same-sex partnerships.

Coleman said in a written judgment that parts of Hong Kong’s Parent and Child Ordinance “significantly impede” the boy from representing his relationship with R to the outside world.

He agreed that if one gets to an analysis, “a reasonable balance is not struck between the societal benefits of the measure and the inroads made into the rights of the affected individuals.”

“The constitutional challenge is made good,” he said.

He added that although he found a proper basis for a directive to address the matter, he stopped short of handing that down because he hoped to first hear further arguments on what the relief should be.

It is unclear how many couples would benefit from Coleman’s ruling. MDT/AP