Today, members of Israel's LGBTQ community took to the streets to protest the recently passed Surrogacy Law, which mandates the use of surrogacy services to Israelis unable to conceive children, but which excludes the LGBTQ community from accessing those services. They have the support of several well-known Israeli businesses, who allowed their employees to skip work to take part in the protests. As a fellow Israeli citizen, I would also like to give my wholehearted support to these people in their ongoing struggle for equality.
Now just to be fair, Israel is light years ahead of other countries in the Middle East in terms of its tolerance for people who are gay, bisexual, transgender, etc. In fact, it's the only country in the region where a person who is a member of the LGBTQ community can live without the constant fear of persecution and even death for the lifestyle they have chosen. Nevertheless, members of this community still significant discrimination in the country's laws and are still victims of persecution and hate in various sectors of Israeli society. Having children and raising a family is a fundamental human right, so not allowing Israelis in the LGBTQ community to access services of surrogate mothers is a clear violation of this right. Therefore, I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to amend the Surrogacy Law to allow members of the LGBTQ community to access these services and take another step towards equal rights in Israel.
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