India

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil got married to recording artist Ivan Wilzig over the weekend, in the Hamptons. In 2008, the prince announced plans to adopt a child. If he does, he will reportedly be the first gay man to adopt a child in India.

Unpaid altruistic surrogacy was decriminalised in Queensland in February - allowing gay people to be the legal parents of a surrogate child and the right to be listed as parent on the child's birth certificate. An Australian gay couple are reportedly paying two Indian women $300 a day for carrying their babies. They are believed to be the first gay dads in Queensland to pay Indian women to carry their children, with the total bill costing up to $80,000 - equivalent to more than 10 years' wages for each of the women.

A French gay father is stranded with twins in Mumbai after their birth via surrogacy in April. Because surrogacy is not legally accepted in France, the father went to India to work with a surrogate. Now he faces prosecution or losing his newborns if he returns back to France. French laws are particularly unfriendly toward gays who want to become parents through surrogacy.

The Times of India reports:

In an article that was just posted in India, controvery continues to follow India and its fertility industry. In this article entitled rightly so, "In the Womb of Controversy," the writer states the following:

"As high drama is being played out in Indian courts over surrogacy issues, the US consulate in Chennai, perhaps worried about the rash of litigations has decided to tighten its visa processing norms, particularly for couples coming to the city for fertility treatment and assisted reproduction.

Original article can be viewed here: http://www.eggdonor.com/blog/2009/12/11/reproductive-tourism-industry-in...

If this comes to pass, it will be a crippling blow to those individuals who have not been able to afford surrogacy and egg donation in the United States:

TGIF, fellow bloggers and readers. We have more information on the embryo mix-up case, as well as a new development in India with Baby Manji and the Louisiana clinic that mislabeled embryos. Happy reading!

California - the lesbian couple who sued the clinic in San Diego for refusing IVF treatment based on their sexual orientation has settled. According to a joint statement, the defendants are "sincerely sorry that Ms. Benitez and Ms. Clark have felt this way, and have never meant to treat Ms. Benitez with disrespect."

Depending upon who you talk to - fertility tourism may or may not be a good thing? In my opinion, if you are working with a reputable clinic/company, it is a good thing. But, where do you find these clinics, and how do you truly know if they are reputable, success, etc. as it may be the clinic/company themselves posing as a patient on a forum? As I noted in an earlier blog piece, I was appalled (naively, I must admit) that this sort of unethical practice is going on here right in my own back yard.