A Donegal mum whose wife had their son by IVF has been denied an Irish passport for him as outdated laws claim she’s not his mother.
Katie Gallagher had one of her eggs fertilised with sperm from a US donor and implanted in her British wife Holly Groombridge’s womb.
The Irish Sun reports that little Griffin was then born in August after the newlywed couple’s third IVF attempt was successful.
But only Holly, 31, was marked as his mum on the birth cert — with Katie, 34, from Gaoth Dobhair, put as a generic “parent”.
However, Irish laws from 1956 define a parent as only a child’s “mother” or “father” and the Passport Office refused Katie’s application for 11-week-old Griffin.
Bosses told her: “A parent is understood to mean either the ‘mother’ or ‘father’ of the child.
“For the purposes of Irish law, the mother of a child is the person who gives birth to the child or a female adopter of the child.
“In this case, as Ms Groombridge gave birth to your son, she is, therefore, regarded as the mother for the purposes of Irish law.
“As Ms Groombridge is not an Irish citizen, your son, Griffin, cannot be regarded as an Irish citizen.”
But Katie, who lives with Holly in Suffolk, England, told the Irish Sun “We are so frustrated and heartbroken that we can’t get an Irish passport for our son because of an antiquated law passed in 1956.
“I applied for an Irish passport and on the form it states that if a child is born abroad, there must be an Irish parent, which I am.
“It doesn’t state mother and father, just parent. By law, Holly is down on Griffin’s birth cert as his mother because she gave birth to him and I am down as a parent.
“However, Irish law still only recognises a male and female parent and this hasn’t been addressed despite the historical same-sex marriage referendum.”
The couple — who married last week after six years together — must now get Griffin a British passport.
It’s yet another blow for Katie after the joy of starting a family following a number of setbacks.
“Under Irish law, the mother of a child is the woman who gives birth to the child . . . it applies even if the child has been conceived using a donated egg.”
Katie said: “After two failed IVF attempts, my embryo was successfully implanted in Holly and when we got the positive pregnancy test, we were over the moon.
“Griffin is biologically my child but Holly carried and nurtured him for nine months and formed a strong maternal bond with him.
“From day one, we wanted to create a family together and this way, we had an equal connection with our child. But in law, there can only be one mother and that title automatically goes to the woman who gives birth.”
The couple have been in contact with Dublin Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell as they try to alter the laws.
Katie said: “A lot has happened culturally in Ireland since 1956 and the law needs to reflect that.
“I just don’t want Griffin not to have the right to have an Irish passport because of a law that is essentially gender discrimination.”
The Department of Justice said: “Under Irish law, the mother of a child is the woman who gives birth to the child . . . it applies even if the child has been conceived using a donated egg.”
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