The little-regulated situation of marriages between persons of the same sex in Spain has already been debated in this blog. Already emphasized has been the relevance of the decision of the Spanish Supreme Court of the 5th of December 2013, which recognized the possibility of registering in the Civil Registry two women as parents of the same child.

BancoHowever, it seems that an obstacle has arisen in the recognition of the rights of these marriages, at least with regards to reproduction. With the judgment of the Spanish Supreme Court of the 6th of February 2014, the possibility of registering the two gay men as parents of a child after a contract of surrogacy has been rejected.

“Maternal surrogacy”, is that contract by which a woman allows her gestational capabilities to be used to bring a child to maturity, whose parenthood is then established in favor of another person or persons. It is a form of “womb rental” that has often been used by infertile heterosexual couples and homosexual relationships.

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailThe Supreme Court denies that its decision is based on a discriminatory policy base on the sexual orientation of the parents, claiming that their homosexuality has nothing to do with the outcome of the case. Rather the Court is seeking to protect public order against a practice that is alleged to be harmful to the dignity of women, viewing her body as something to be exploited economically.

Proof of the good intentions of the Court, it could be argued, is the recommendation for the establishment of the parenthood of these children by other legal mechanisms, such as adoption.

However, the Spanish Supreme Court’s decision comes after an alarming trend on the part of Spanish public authorities to reverse certain left-wing policies, such as is the case of abortion, where a new bill virtually precludes the termination of pregnancy except when some exceptional circumstance ntervenes.

Another controversial issue, discussed by Supreme Court judge Seijas Quintana, is if Spanish courts should even be able to examine the legality of a validly issued foreign judgment (in this case from California), or if they should limit themselves to the recognition of its effects in Spanish territory.

Article by Mark Athos Franklin, English lawyer at the Rodriguez Bernal law firm.
 
For more articles on Civil law or for more articles in English, click the links provided.
 
Antonio Pedro Rodríguez Bernal
Lawyer and expert in family law. He has led civil cases of all kinds during the last 15 years of legal practice and has helped clients from many countries and nationalities.
 
For more information about the services we offer on family issues, visit our web site or contact us directly.
Email: info@rodriguezbernal.com
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