tomer and elinor, twins born to a gay couple in our surrogacy program

Other news


• Updates of pregnancies, deliveries and cycles 
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2008 STORIES 
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• Details magazine features Circle's president and clients in a story about The Gay Baby Boom 
 
• Circle denounces sensationalistic media focus on military wives 
 
• John Weltman interviewed for Newsweek's cover story on surrogacy 
 
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2007 STORIES 
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• CBS features Circle couple in a story about breast milk 
 
• Third annual "Men Having Babies" seminar in NY attracts high attendance and media interest 
 
• Israeli TV features Circle Surrogacy dad following a widely attended informational seminar in Tel Aviv 
 
• Article in Israeli newspaper about Circle Surrogacy 
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2006 STORIES 
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• CS couple featured at NYT article has twins 
 
• Circle Surrogacy sponsors "Men Having Babies" seminar in NY 
 
• WGBH features Circle Surrogacy couple, surrogate and president in television report 
 
• New ASRM report: gays should have equal access to reproductive services 
 
• A video of surrogacy from the perspective of a Circle Surrogacy carrier 
 
• John Weltman speaks at the Gay Parenting Show 
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2005 STORIES 
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• NYT features Circle Surrogacy in front page article 
 
• Circle Surrogacy Featured on Television News 
 
• NBC features Circle Surrogacy in a story about gay men becoming fathers 
 
• Circle Surrogacys Reunion party 
 
• John Weltman at Reproductive Choice Seminar 
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Newsletters 
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» Winter 2007 
 
» Summer 2006 
 
» Winter 2006 
 
________________________________ 
 
A poem from a surrogate to the intended parents 

 

In the news:


Details magazine's "The Gay Baby Boom" story  features John Weltman and several Circle parents

More gay men are becoming parents, and among them gestational surrogacy is particularly popular.

 

May 2008

Maariv-john.jpgDetails magazine published an in-depth story in their May 2008 issue about the increasing numbers of gay men who are becoming fathers. The article cites observations of academics, doctors, lawyers, and gay advocacy groups who say that "there appears to be a boom in homosexual men having babies." Edward Lewine, the article's author, based much of the article on interviews with John Weltman, Circle Surrogacy's president, along with several former Circle clients.

Most of the article describes the experiences of fathers through surrogacy, which is the method of choice for an increasing numbers of gay men. Among the reasons for this trend is the fact that surrogacy is often faster than adoption, doesn't involve "persuading social workers that you are fit to be a parent, and allow[s] you to pass your genes along to your children." In particular, most gay men prefer gestational surrogacy, the method that involves IVF and egg donation from a women who does not carry the babies, because it gives the carrier no legal rights to the child she gives birth to. The article also provides an account of the evolution of this "gayby boom", the generational gap it seems to expose within the community, and how an increasing number of single gay guys are going it alone (though not for long, as many pair off soon after they become parents). Below are some excerpts and a link to the article online.

 “The Gay Baby Boom” - Details Magazine, May 2008

Using adoption or surrogacy, more homosexual men than ever before are becoming fathers. It's not a novelty—it's a movement. Look for it at a playground near you. "

"It's definitely happening," says Dan Savage, who writes the syndicated newspaper column "Savage Love" and is himself a gay father (he has a son). "Most of the people I know have adopted, but more and more gay men are opting for surrogacy because it gives you more control, and there are gay men who want that genetic relationship with their children."

"These days in vitro fertilization (IVF) (which involves implanting a lab-fertilized egg in a womb) is particularly popular, and increasingly effective... all these reproductive methods have some things in common: They're faster than adoption, don't involve persuading social workers that you are fit to be a parent, and allow you to pass your genes along to your children. Agencies and law offices that match potential parents with egg donors and surrogate mothers say they're flooded with gay-male candidates. John Weltman, the founder of Circle Surrogacy in Boston, says he had few gay hopefuls when he opened his doors 12 years ago. Today around 90 percent of his clients are gay."

"Most gay men opt for an IVF procedure using an egg from a donor placed in the body of a different woman, who carries the embryo to term. This is called gestational surrogacy and is favored because in some states it gives the carrier no legal rights to the child she gives birth to.

"And it's not just gay couples who are investigating IVF.  Many homosexual men have  

decided to go it alone, which provides at least one tangible bonus: While single parenthood can be a turnoff on the heterosexual dating scene, being a single gay dad is—there's really no other word for it—hot. "

"In the gay community, having a child as a single man is a sign of assertiveness," says Ron Poole-Dayan, a marketing consultant who runs a biological-parent support group in Manhattan and has 7-year-old twins with his partner, Gregory Poole-Dayan. "It's also appealing to know this is a gay man who isn't afraid of commitment." Poole-Dayan says he's seen six out of the seven single gay dads he knows pair off after the births of their children.

That's what happened to B.J. Holt, 40, a general manager for Broadway stage productions. "I worried about being a single father," Holt says. "But sure enough, as soon as I started the process with a surrogate mother, I met my future partner." Today Holt and his partner, who asked that his name be withheld, are raising Christina, who is 7 months old.

Darek DeFreece, 36, an investment-banking attorney who lives in the Bay Area, was aware of the possible consequences of being a single father. "I worried about the workload, about having enough time to give to my family and my personal life," he says. But those concerns seemed relatively trivial when he looked at the long term. "It was especially important for me to have children as a single man. I looked at myself in the future, and being a single, older man without kids didn't seem like a desirable place to be." (DeFreece no longer has to worry about being on his own—he and his partner have 9-month-old twins, Jake and Riley Catherine.)

Excerpts from a May 2008 Details Magazine article, pages 78-83 , by Edward Lewine.

   

Read the Details article online...

 


 

About Circle Surrogacy

Since 1995, Circle Surrogacy has helped bring to the world over 225 babies. Its dedicated staff of professionals is made up of lawyers, social workers, parents through surrogacy, surrogates and past clients. Circle Surrogacy provides a choice of specialized clinics at locations throughout the country, a large selection of egg donors, swift matching with carefully screened surrogates, and a variety of flexible programs and financial options to suit its clients’ unique family choices.

John Weltman, owner, founder is a Yale graduate and a nationally recognized expert in the field of reproductive law, including surrogacy and gay parenting.

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