UCA News
Contribute

Same sex couples having babies pose a new challenge

Gay and lesbian parents may contest in court existing statutes that define parenthood in Singapore
Supporters attend the annual 'Pink Dot' event in a public show of support for the LGBTQ community in  Hong Lim Park in Singapore on June 18, 2022

Supporters attend the annual 'Pink Dot' event in a public show of support for the LGBTQ community in  Hong Lim Park in Singapore on June 18, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

Published: June 07, 2023 11:40 AM GMT
Updated: June 07, 2023 11:42 AM GMT

In the past few decades, rapid advancements in IVF and other new reproductive technologies have caused much disruption to how society traditionally views and defines parenthood, as compared to just a few generations ago.

The widespread availability and rampant commercialization of surrogacy, sperm, and egg donation, made possible with such new technologies, have greatly muddled and even severed biological and genetic links between parents and children.

Indeed, such trends have only accelerated over the past few years. The advent of the three-parent technique (mitochondrial replacement therapy) and human genome editing that involve mixing and combining genetic material from multiple persons, other than the presumed father and mother, have further befuddled society’s views, perceptions, and definitions of modern parenthood.

Into this confusing and muddling fray, enters in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) technology that enables the generation of functional sperm and eggs from stem cells. Several research groups in Japan and China have already demonstrated the birth of live healthy offspring from IVG-generated sperm and eggs from the skin cells of mice and rats, which could in turn reproduce normally and give rise to the next generation of healthy offspring.

It is highly plausible that these would soon be replicated in humans within the near future, given the good track record of how readily scientific breakthroughs in rats and mice are translated into human clinical applications.

While the advent of IVG technology would certainly be a beacon of hope for many infertile patients, it must be noted that this technology can also be used to enable gay and lesbian couples to have offspring that are genetically related to both same-sex partners, which would not be possible in nature.

"It is very unlikely that the Singapore government will ever allow gay and lesbian couples to beget children with this new technology"

For example, sperm can be generated from the skin cells of a woman to fertilize the egg of her lesbian partner, resulting in a child with two ‘mothers.’ Similarly, an egg can be generated from the skin cells of a man, which could be fertilized by the sperm of his gay partner, and the resulting embryo implanted into a surrogate mother, ultimately leading to the birth of a child with two ‘fathers.’

Nevertheless, even if IVG technology advances sufficiently to become viable for human clinical applications in the near future, it is very unlikely that the Singapore government will ever allow gay and lesbian couples to beget children with this new technology, given their long-standing opposition to the formation of same-sex family units in the country.

Under current healthcare regulations in Singapore, only legally married heterosexual couples are allowed to receive any form of clinically assisted reproduction treatment at local fertility clinics.

However, there is nothing to stop Singaporean gay and lesbian couples from utilizing IVG to beget children overseas, which would subsequently lead them to encounter legal obstacles that bar them from adopting their genetically-related IVG-conceived offspring.

Under current laws in Singapore, only married couples can jointly adopt children, whereas same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are not afforded any legal recognition in the country.

This in turn will motivate gay and lesbian parents with IVG-conceived children to challenge existing statutes that define parenthood in Singapore, via the local family court system. Such challenges will likely be based on legal precedents that establish the paramount importance of genetic affinity and blood ties between parent and child in family law, and the need to prioritize child welfare above public policy.

For example, when the Singapore High Court granted a gay man’s bid to adopt his biological son born via a foreign surrogate mother, the Chief Justice declared that ensuring child welfare is paramount and outweighs public policy against the formation of same-sex family units.

"Conservative sociocultural values still prevail with the majority of the population being religiously affiliated"

In another landmark court case involving compensation claims for IVF sperm mix-up by a fertility clinic in Singapore, the court ruling stated that “the ordinary human experience is that parents and children are bound by ties of blood and this fact of biological experience — heredity — carries deep sociocultural significance.”

Hence LGBTQ activists in Singapore can readily exploit such legal precedents in a future landmark court case to overturn current legal statutes that define parenthood in Singapore, which is largely based on a child conceived by a man and a woman. It can easily be argued that based on genetic affinity and blood ties alone, both partners in a gay/lesbian relationship should be given automatic parenthood status of their IVG-conceived offspring, without the need for either of them to undergo the adoption procedure.

This would in fact represent a subversion of democratic principles, because the overthrow of laws by individuals mounting legal challenges through the court system may not exactly be met with approval by the majority of the population.

Currently, in Singapore, conservative sociocultural values still prevail with the majority of the population being religiously affiliated, despite increasing secularization in recent years.

It is precisely for these reasons that the Singapore government last year enacted a constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage as “between a man and woman,” when they repealed Section 377A of the penal code, a colonial-era legislation that criminalized homosexual acts between men.

Henceforth, only the Singapore parliament has the right to make changes to the current legal definition of marriage as “between a man and a woman,” while excluding the possibility of a landmark court case challenging the status quo, which could possibly lead to recognition of same-sex marriages in Singapore without approval from parliament.

To prevent a similar subversion of democratic principles by a future landmark court case overthrowing current legal statutes that define parenthood in Singapore, it may thus be necessary for the Singapore parliament to also enact a constitutional amendment to protect the legal definition of parenthood in the country, in the face of new reproductive technologies such as IVG.

Dr. Alexis Heng Boon Chin, an expert in Biomedical Science, had previously worked in the field of human clinically assisted reproduction research in Singapore and has authored 50 international journal publications on ethical and legal issues relating to new reproductive technologies. The article expresses his personal opinion, which is not connected to any institutions that he is affiliated with. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia