Lesbian couple win Hong Kong court victory in IVF case

Hong Kong court sides with lesbian couple in landmark ruling, granting both women parental status over their child born via RIVF. Judge Queeny Au-Yeung declared the government's non-recognition of the second woman as a form of discrimination. Ruling hailed as a win for LGBTQ community, first of its kind in common law world. DOJ studying judgment, considering way forward. Earlier ruling against same-sex marriage, but ordered gov't to provide alternative framework.

A Hong Kong court has sided with a lesbian couple who argued that both women should have parental status over their child born via "reciprocal IVF", a ruling hailed as a win for the LGBTQ community.

The medical procedure of reciprocal in vitro fertilisation (RIVF) allows two women to share in the process of childbearing and is credited with helping same-sex couples start families.

Two women who took part in RIVF launched a legal challenge last year after the Hong Kong government recognised only one of them as the mother of their son, citing existing family laws.

Also Read | Hong Kong’s top court rules to recognise same-sex partnerships

On Friday, judge Queeny Au-Yeung at the court of first instance ruled that the government's non-recognition was a form of discrimination against the couple's son.

Their child was "discriminated as to his birth in the sense that, unlike other children, he does not have a co-parent, genetically linked to him," the judge wrote in her ruling.

The court declared that the woman initially denied legal status should be recognised as a "parent at common law", saying the move would align her legal status with reality.