Gay dads speak out as UK Minister rejects surrogacy law reform
Jamie Corbett and Adam Frisby have been campaigning to change UK surrogacy laws (Instagram/fr15by)
Gay dads Adam Frisby and Jamie Corbett have ended their campaign to change UK surrogacy laws after the Government ruled out immediate reform.
The couple, who founded fast-fashion brand In The Style, welcomed their daughter Leven through surrogacy in the US, but when they returned to the UK, they discovered they weren’t automatically recognised as her legal parents.
They were forced to go through a lengthy parental order process involving court proceedings and social worker assessments, prompting them to launch a petition calling for intended parents to be legally recognised from birth.
The petition quickly passed 100,000 signatures, leading to a debate in Parliament on 7 September.
But during the debate, public health and patient safety minister Diana Johnson said the Government would not make immediate changes to surrogacy law, although it would consider potential reforms in the future.
Adam and Jamie said they were disappointed by how the debate unfolded, arguing that their campaign was about giving families legal recognition while protecting children, surrogates and intended parents.
The couple said: “Families like ours were reduced to statements like ‘wealthy men exploiting women’.”
‘I genuinely don’t know what more two dads can do’
They also criticised comments suggesting surrogacy involves wealthy men exploiting women, saying some claims made about surrogates were not backed by evidence.
The couple have now decided to pause their campaign, saying they are “very deflated” after putting everything into the fight, adding on Instagram: “I genuinely don’t know what more two dads can do.”
Their message remains: protect surrogates, protect children and protect intended parents.
“That is literally what we have said from day one,” they wrote. They went on: “We really believed today ight move something forward. It didn’t.”
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