The advocacy and outreach initiatives of Men Having Babies
Part of the mission of Men Having Babies is to promote surrogacy practices that minimize the risks and maximize the potential short and long-term benefits to all involved; and to raise awareness about the potential benefits and meaningful relationships surrogacy arrangements can bring about. To date we have used three tools to advance these causes:
We often find that positive surrogacy stories go untold, while the press is much more likely to report when things go wrong. As a growing number of gay men turn to surrogacy to create families of choice, the practice started to receive more visibility. Gay men are naturally less likely to hide the origin of their children than their straight counterparts, and therefore in many countries they are at the forefront of advocacy efforts to highlight the potential benefits of this practice. To further assist in this trend, Men Having Babies has launched the first ever Surrogacy Speakers Bureau. Prospective speakers are identified through our parent survey initiative. As of September 2012 we already have in the database over 100 couples and singles, most of them parents, and some still in the process of creating their family. While most are gay, we also have some straight couples as well.
The NBC show "The New Normal" features gay people becoming parents through surrogacy as a growing and more widely accepted phenomena. As people for whom this is our reality (parents, surrogates, egg donors and even doctors and nurses), we welcome the show. We furthermore wish to use our real life experiences to add depth in a less Holywood-like fashion. The Facebook page we created has hundreds of surrogacy dads and surrogates that comment and contrast our stories to the one depicted on TV. It is also serving as a long term online community for people who were touched by, and benefited from gay surrogacy arrangements.
Given our core values and mission, here are some issues we will pay attention to:
Our workshop and seminars regularly touch upon the issue of minimizing the risks involved in surrogacy, maximizing the short and long-term benefits to all involved, and the importance of meaningful relationships it can bring about. Our video library has several clips form such seminars, and relevant content can be found in our articles library.
Part of the mission of Men Having Babies is to promote surrogacy practices that minimize the risks and maximize the potential short and long-term benefits to all involved; and to raise awareness about the potential benefits and meaningful relationships surrogacy arrangements can bring about. To date we have used three tools to advance these causes:
The Men Having Babies Surrogacy Speakers Bureau
- For detailed up to date reports, and to make inquirers, see our Speakers Bureau page.
Living The New Normal - community blog and Facebook page
Given our core values and mission, here are some issues we will pay attention to:
- Financial implications: while this may be a growing practice, surrogacy is still very expensive and financially out of reach for many. We feel this should be not just noted, but also combated (which the organization does through financial assistance and other means).
- Relationships: we believe surrogacy arrangement are more successful when attention is given to the meaningful relationships they can bring about.
- Well being of all parties: we believe that attention should be given to the way surrogacy arrangements should minimize the risks and maximize the potential short and long term benefits to all involved - including the surrogate and donor, their families, the prospective parents and the future children.
Seminars and workshops
Our workshop and seminars regularly touch upon the issue of minimizing the risks involved in surrogacy, maximizing the short and long-term benefits to all involved, and the importance of meaningful relationships it can bring about. Our video library has several clips form such seminars, and relevant content can be found in our articles library.