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Straight dad wears skirts and dresses in solidarity with his five-year old son

September 1, 2012 By Editorial Staff

In a small, religious Province of southern Germany, Nils Pickert has a young son who likes to wear dresses and nail polish. Nils’ parenting instinct told him the boy couldn’t grow strong and assert himself as an adult without a role model, so he became that role model – and Mr. Pickert wears skirts and nail polish along with his son.

The dad says, “Yes, I’m one of those dads, that try to raise their children equal. I’m not one of those academic daddies that ramble about gender equality during their studies and then, as soon as a child’s in the house, still relapse into those fluffy gender roles…”

Now the boy simply smiles, when other boys (and it’s nearly always boys) make fun of him and he says: “You only don’t dare to wear skirts and dresses because your dads don’t dare to either.” That’s how broad his own shoulders have become. And all thanks to daddy in a skirt.

Pickert adds, “To this very day I’m thankful for that women, that stared at us on the street until she ran face first into a street light. My son was roaring with laugher.”

[via steegeschnoeber.tumblr.com & EMMA]

Filed Under: Advice & Education, Editor's Pick Tagged With: Germany, straight ally

German court rules gay couples entitled to equal treatment on inheritance tax

August 17, 2010 By Editorial Staff

Germany’s highest court has ruled that gay couples in civil partnerships are entitled to the same inheritance tax rules as married heterosexual couples. The AP reports the Federal Constitutional Court decided in favor of two homosexual plaintiffs after each had lost their partner and contested rules under which they had to pay inheritance tax as if they were distant relatives of the deceased.

The court found that there is no reason to discriminate against people in registered homosexual partnerships. Such unions have been possible in Germany since 2001 but legally fall short of marriage. At present, a spouse pays an inheritance tax of between 7 and 30 per cent, but gay partners must pay between 17 and 50 per cent.

Filed Under: Editor's Pick, News & Politics Tagged With: Germany, taxes

German Twins Born To Indian Surrogate Obtain Indian Citizenship

November 12, 2009 By vgm8383

http://www.eggdonor.com/blog/2009/11/11/german-twins-born-to-indian-surrogate-obtain-indian-citizenship/

According to The Times of India:

“AHMEDABAD: Over a year after they were born, twins born to a German couple through a surrogate mother in Anand have got Indian citizenship.

In a historic judgment, the Gujarat High Court held that children born to surrogate mothers on Indian soil are Indians, if there is any dispute regarding their citizenship in cases of foreign nationals.

Jan Balaz, a freelance writer and his wife Susanne Lohle, both Germans, could not have kids, so they came to India and entered into a surrogacy agreement with Martha Khristi, who delivered twins last April — Nikolas and Leonard. Their birth was registered in Anand municipality. The babies could never be German citizens, as the laws there prohibit surrogacy. The couple settled down in UK and wanted a visa for the kids from British embassy. They had already got Indian passports.

However, the passports were withdrawn by the Centre on the ground that the parents were not Indian nationals and therefore the kids were not Indians. Balaz approached the High Court, and there was a debate on the twins’ citizenship. Ultimately, the High Court took a middle path in the absence of any law, and ordered the Centre to issue identity certificates, just like the Japanese baby Manji’s case, and on basis of this the couple was allowed to take their babies to UK.

A division Bench of Chief Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice AS Dave asked the Centre to give passport to babies for obtaining British visa. The Centre was willing, but surrogacy laws and citizenship were not clear.

Finally, the court considered the Citizenship Act and held: “Even if the children are described as illegitimate children, they are born in this country to an Indian national and hence, they are entitled to get citizenship by birth, as one of their parent is an Indian.””

The inability of the Intended Parents to obtain German citizenship surprises me given my past experience with German clients using American surrogates. Many countries ban surrogacy, but generally those restrictions are limited to prohibiting the conduct within that jurisdiction. This is sheer speculation on my part, but I wonder if this was a traditional surrogate arrangement where the surrogate was the genetic mother. This might explain the result, particularly if the traditional surrogate was married. While there have been a few reported incidents of countries attempting to deny citizenship to children born as a result of an international surrogacy arrangement, they are extremely rare. Fortunately this German couple obtained the result they were seeking. However, for many Germans who have no choice but to work with a gestational carrier outside of Germany, not being able to secure German citizenship for their child would be unacceptable. I will post an update if I receive any additional information on the underlying circumstances of this case.

Filed Under: Surrogacy Tagged With: Citizenship, German law, Germany, Indian Surrogacy, Reproductive Tourism, surrogacy, Surrogate Motherhood, Surrogate Parenting

Law triggers IVF tourism in Germany

April 29, 2009 By

Found a great article on fertility tourism and how the restrictions on IVF are affecting infertile couples and individuals in Germany. I like for us to consider this with all of the current media attention on IVF, thanks to the Octomom, so that we tread lightly and not go too far as seems to be happening here.

Please let me know your thoughts.

http://www.russiatoday.com/Sci_Tech/2009-04-28/Law_triggers_IVF_tourism_in_Germany.html

“Women over 60 are becoming mothers, and parents can choose if they want a boy or a girl – all thanks to the wonders of modern medicine. But, such help is not available to couples in Germany.

Instead, there are strict rules governing fertility treatment, which some believe are too restrictive on prospective parents.

Thomas Bartels and Birgit Brand have been trying to have a baby for 5 years. With no success naturally, they are now on their third IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) treatment, and they are hoping it will be the last. They say they are content with the fertility system in Germany at the moment, but with more options available abroad, such as egg donation and selection, they might be tempted to leave in the near future.

“It’s hard to say today what we will do, how much patience, how much strength do we have, how many attempts do we want to make, especially if it fails this time. And if so, then we will have to really think about whether we will go abroad to have a better chance of getting pregnant,” says Thomas Barlets.”

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Filed Under: Legal & Financial Tagged With: fertility, fertility tourism, Germany, IVF, octomom


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