Jerusalem: Three premature babies born to Nepali surrogate mothers and Israeli couples were on Thursday evacuated from quake-ravaged Nepal, which in recent years has become a popular surrogacy hub for same-sex Israeli couples.
The infants, along with some wounded Israelis, were flown in a small military aircraft after it delivered aid and a team of doctors to Nepal.
Israel has allowed the infants born to Nepalese surrogate mothers to enter the country without waiting for the bureaucratic formalities to be completed in the wake of Saturday's tragic earthquake in Nepal, which has killed over 5,500 people.
Twenty-six babies had been born to Israeli couples in Nepal in the recent weeks and the government is planning to airlift all of them along with 600-700 other Israelis who are currently in Nepal, Foreign ministry officials said.
Many Israeli homosexual couples have fathered children with Nepalese surrogate mothers as in Israel the procedure is limited by law to heterosexual partners.
Nepal became the primary destination for Israelis looking to pursue surrogacy after India and Thailand shut their doors to foreigners seeking surrogate mothers.
Israel's Interior Minister Gilad Erdan, said, “the infants will be air-lifted to Israel before all the paperwork is done, though the fathers will have to complete the procedure here.”
Israel is yet to take a decision regarding dozens of prospective parents in Israel and their surrogates in Nepal who are in various stages of pregnancy.
Erdan on Wednesday said that he would allow the surrogates to come to Israel to complete their pregnancies here, and an announcement to that effect was even made by the Population, Border and Immigration Authority.
"Following legal consultations, the Justice Ministry expressed support for the position of Erdan to allow entry into Israel of the surrogate mothers who are in advanced stages of pregnancy and who are now in Nepal," the statement said.
"The landing of these women in Israel will provide them with a suitable medical environment and remove them from the danger zones," it added.
However, expectant parents said they had not received any official notice regarding this and the Justice Ministry said that no final decision had been made regarding the entry of surrogates into Israel.
A new bill allowing gay couples to use surrogate mothers in Israel is pending with the parliament.
