Singapore allows two fathers to adopt their surrogate son in landmark ruling

Singapore’s High Court has made a landmark ruling allowing a gay couple to adopt their five-year-old son conceived through a surrogate in the United States, on the basis of prioritising the child’s welfare.

In a 145-judgment released on Monday, a panel of three judges led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon ruled the adoption bid, rejected by a lower court last year, should go through because it would “increase the child’s prospects of acquiring Singapore citizenship and securing long-term residence in Singapore”.

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Singapore has a law banning gay sex and the government has said any change to legislation will need to take into account public opinion, which is deeply divided over the issue.

The judgment noted the court considered Singapore’s public policy on same-sex families and its relation to this case as well as any policy violation if an adoption order was made. Yet neither reason was “sufficiently powerful to enable us to ignore the statutory imperative to promote the welfare of the child and, indeed, to regard his welfare as first and paramount”, the judgment said.

The judges also stressed their decision was not an endorsement of the couple’s actions or a result of “sympathies for the position of either party”.

But the court’s decision is essentially Singapore’s first legal acknowledgement of same-sex families.

The couple, “James” and “Shawn”, first applied for James to adopt their son “Noel” in December 2014 when he was about a year old. Their real names have not been disclosed.

Noel was born in the United States to a surrogate mother after an assisted reproduction process that used James’ sperm. The child is an American citizen and has been living in Singapore on a dependent’s pass, which has to be renewed every six months by leaving the country.

[We] really want Singapore to be the home of our family. Our family will celebrate this significant milestone

James, father

With the judgment, James can now adopt Noel as a single parent, giving him sole rights and responsibility over the boy, including applying for Singapore citizenship for him.

The couple, who were at work when they heard the news at 10.25am through their lawyers, were elated.

“It was business as usual because we didn’t want to get our hopes too high,” said James, who is a doctor.

Shawn works in the marketing industry. Both men are 45, of Chinese ethnicity, and are Singaporeans. The men have been in a relationship since 1998 and living together since 2005.

James said the family was happy and relieved that Noel could be adopted.

“The fight to raise our family in Singapore has been a long and difficult journey,” he said. “We hope that the adoption will increase the chances of our son to be able to stay in Singapore with his family. “His grandparents and us really want Singapore to be the home of our family. Our family will celebrate this significant milestone.”

The South China Morning Post in January reported on the family’s legal limbo. Last year, the couple had their adoption bid rejected by the Family Justice Courts one day after Christmas, although District Judge Shobha Nair said Noel would be provided for, with or without an adoption order.

The couple then appealed the decision in the High Court.

James’s lawyer Ivan Cheong, partner at Eversheds Harry Elias, said the case was important because it showed how the Court would take in public policy considerations.

“In the current case, notwithstanding that the court found that there is a public policy in favour of parenthood within the marriage and a policy against the formation of same sex units, the court found that the welfare of the child would be significantly promoted if an adoption order was made,” Cheong said. “At the end of the day, it is about what is in the child’s best interests.”

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