How Ireland discriminates against children born to LGBTQ parents: a thread

Firstly, I’m not an expert, I’ve only done some research online and listened to personal stories from families. I can’t cover everything, there’s just too many layers. You can find more info at http://citizensinformation.ie , http://lgbt.ie  and http://equalityforchildren.ie .

Recently, there has been some legislation protecting female same-sex couples once they meet a certain criteria, which is (briefly) using a known donor in an Irish IVF Clinic. This is a step in the right direction but only protects a fraction of children born to LGBTQ parents.

For female same-sex couples who opt for insemination not in a clinic, it is only the mother who gives birth that is recognised by law. In contrast, heterosexual married couples who use a donor benefit from presumed paternity (i.e. the husband is presumed to be the legal father)

The Irish government does not have regulations about how heterosexual couples conceive their children in their homes, why should there be such regulations for same-sex couples. It’s 2021.

With regards to surrogacy, it’s practically not recognised. Both parents are not named on the birth certificate. The surrogate is legally the “mother” and if she is married her husband is presumed the father, until proven otherwise.

Because the woman who gives birth to the child is recognised as the legal mother, technically, until the child is 18, she could “change her mind” and have the child live with her.

Surrogates are incredible humans and likely wouldn’t do this, but it can be scary to build your family on this weak legal foundation. Similarly, it doesn’t offer the surrogate any legal protection surrounding them not being a parent.

If a couple go abroad for surrogacy to a country where they are both named on the birth certificate, this isn’t recognised in Ireland. The non-biological father is a legal stranger. PPS numbers and passports often require the permission of the “mother” = further difficulties.

Because both parents aren’t named on the birth cert, if the child ends up in hospital, the second (non-legal) parent doesn’t have any say in medical decisions etc. Neither can the child travel abroad with them.

You might think “why can’t they just adopt from the surrogate?”- well this won’t work either because no private adoptions are allowed in Ireland, it’s all done through one central body meaning the couple might not be matched with the child birthed by the surrogate.

For second parents who aren’t recognised by law, they have to wait for 2 years before being recognised. They have to prove they have been parent to the child for a minimum of 2 years. For heterosexual couples, this is 3 months.

There seems to be no mention of transgender/non-binary parents, which is why my language is very binary.

All of this means that LGBTQ couples do not have all the legal tools to fully care for their child - e.g. no say in medical decisions. Ireland voted for equality in 2015, yet LGBTQ couples are #stillnotequal

I’m pretty sure all of this information is accurate, it’s sources from the websites listed above in the thread.