Image Source: Shutterstock
On Monday 7th September a petition brought forward by Adam Frisby, a fashion mogul and gay dad, was debated in Westminster Hall after receiving more than 113,000 signatures. The petition intended to grant parental orders at birth instead of after the current statutory six week buffer.
The debate was held in the presence of Dame Diana Johnson, the Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety and advocate of extreme abortion laws in which she said that the Government does not have enough parliamentary time to make a legislative change on the matter.
The first concern reported was by Lichfield Labour MP Dave Robertson, lamenting the need for social workers to visit commissioning parents during the parental order process; a strange point to make if there is nothing to hide.
Another strange intervention came from North Warwickshire and Bedworth Labour MP Rachel Taylor who alluded to the idea that consent, once given, cannot be removed—even using the comparison of sexual consent. This undermines the most fundamental principle of consent, that it can be revoked at any time—a point touched on by South West Devon Conservative MP Rebecca Smith.
Corbett and Frisby were also backed up by fellow gay dad who acquired his children through adoption, Cannock Chase Labour MP Josh Newbury.
Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, Tracy Gilbert came out on the side of the mothers and babies calling for Parliament to ban both international and domestic surrogacy. She was backed up by her Labour colleagues Jonathan Hinder and Stephen Yemm, and Conservative MPs Rebecca Smith and Shivani Raja, highlighting the other nations in Europe (Italy, France, Spain, and Switzerland) who have disallowed surrogacy.
One intervention by Labour MP for Bolton West Phil Brickell was particularly notable. He highlighted the problematic nature of the international surrogacy business, My Surrogacy Journey, who are swimming in allegations of bullying and maltreatment whilst still remaining on the Government approved list of recommended agencies. The fact such a list exist shows that the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office are subverting domestic surrogacy protections with de facto support for the unregulated foreign trade in children.
It seems that the moves to get rid of the parental order buffer have hit a wall, and that the debate sparked by the petition may actually lead to the opposite result, a tightening of surrogacy laws and a growing parliamentary cohort in favour of an outright ban.
Displaying their shock at the anti-surrogacy angle of the debate, Frisby and Corbett said, “We sat there listening to the majority of MPs debate whether surrogacy should even exist.”
They continued, “Families like ours were reduced to statements like “wealthy men exploiting women.” Earlier this week an MP told us he believed in “traditional, stable family structures” involving biological mothers. I was genuinely shocked to hear that from an MP in 2026, after today, maybe I shouldn’t have been. Because at times it honestly felt like we weren’t listening to a debate about changing an outdated law, we were listening to people degrade families like ours.”
They finished, saying, “We came back to the hotel, picked up Leven and honestly just had a little cry.”
The men later appeared on Sky News painting themselves as victims of a complicated law that they had no idea about, yet when speaking against visits from social workers they used the point that men seeking surrogacy prepare for “years.” If they had prepared for years the question remains why they are miffed or weren’t prepared for the hurdles needed to apply for their parental order? They intentionally chose international surrogacy (which allows for eugenic selection practices banned in Britain).
SPUC Communications Manager Peter Kearney commented on the matter saying: “We are glad the Minister has said the Government has no desire to legislate on this issue and that the campaign seems to have stalled at the first stage. We are equally glad that a new cohort of parliamentarians have shown the boldness to call for a total ban on surrogacy.”
He continued, “SPUC is glad to stand against the exploitative industry that intentionally deprives children of their mother and allows for a eugenic child-choosing process and leads to the slaughter of the embryos seen as inferior. We will throw ourselves behind the movement to outlaw surrogacy in this country.”
