Guide for homosexual fathers launched

A guide for gay fathers has been launched, offering advice on adoption, fostering and surrogacy to gay couples who want to become parents.

The Guide For Gay Dads is written by gay equality charity Stonewall which said "there's never been a better time for gay men to start a family".

The book, which is sponsored by the London Sperm Bank, gives practical tips on how to become a father as well as facts about sperm donation and co-parenting.

It also spells out legal changes affecting gay couples and contains a glossary of key terms in parenting.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said: "There's never been a better time for gay men to start a family in Britain. The law is now on their side.

"This comprehensive new guide – the first of its kind specifically aimed at gay men – outlines all options, with handy tips and places to go for further support.

"We hope it'll convince some gay men who might have otherwise written off the prospect of raising children to reconsider."

The guide follows research commissioned by Stonewall from the University of Cambridge which found that children with same sex parents have the same quality of upbringing as children with heterosexual parents.

Gary Nunn, Stonewall's communications officer, said the guide aims to encourage gay couples not to write off the prospect of having children.

"In the year ending March 21 2010, just 60 of the 3,200 children who were adopted went to gay male couples," he explained. "This has doubled since 2007, but it's still less than 2%.

"Over the past few years there has been a huge volume of legal change and opportunities are now open to gay people that were not there five or 10 years ago.

"We want to communicate these changes, fostering the idea that lesbian, gay and bisexual people can play a valuable role in the community that they couldn't before – and one of those roles is becoming a parent."

(Published by The Telegraph - October 26, 2010)