In 2023, the territory's highest court ordered the government to create a legal framework for same-sex relationships. The marriage alternative would give these couples access to fertility treatment. But since then, affected people say nothing has changed.

Hong Kong Island

In 2023, Hong Kong's Supreme Court directed the government to establish a legal structure to recognize same-sex relationships. This significant ruling aimed to ensure LGBTQ couples in Hong Kong could have access to essential services, like fertility treatment, similar to those available to heterosexual couples. Despite this progressive court order, members of the LGBTQ community in Hong Kong have reported that they have not seen any substantial changes in their legal status or access to services since the court's decision.

The directive from the territory's highest court was seen as a pivotal moment for LGBTQ rights in Hong Kong. It promised to provide same-sex couples with a marriage alternative, acknowledging and legitimizing their relationships in the eyes of the law. The expectation was that this legal recognition would open doors to various rights and services that were previously inaccessible to LGBTQ couples, including the crucial area of reproductive health services. However, the lack of discernible progress has left many affected individuals feeling that their wait for equal rights and recognition continues unabated.



Hong Kong LGBTQ couples still wait for equal rights

We're just the same people who want a family, who want to be loved, and we navigate our way through it, even if the environment or the society doesn't allow you to. Jenny Choying and her partner dream of becoming mothers. Her partner asks not to be identified, as not even her family knows she's gay. The couple want to have fertility treatment, but under Hong Kong law, they're not eligible. Because I'm not a married person, married in the sense that I have to be married to a man, which is unlikely to happen for me. The law is conservative and restrictive, basically it's only available to couples who are married. Since this marriage is not recognised in Hong Kong, I would say it pretty much has a deadline. The only option is to seek fertility treatment abroad. That could get the couple a child, but wouldn't change their legal situation back home. We can do IVF, which is my own egg, and also I'll be the one who bears the child. So technically, my partner has nothing to do with it, in terms of legal, right? No, no, I'm going to take care of you and bring waters. Yeah, so in terms of the daily care, of course she's going to play a huge part among the relationship and in this family. But the problem is legally, she's not recognised. Because technically she's not the mother, she's not the one who bears the child, because in Hong Kong law, the one who bears the child is the mother. Then there's the price. In Hong Kong, one IVF cycle would cost between $1,200 and $3,200. In the US, where Jenny Choying and her partner could go, it's around $20,000. Last year, Hong Kong judges ruled that all this amounts to discrimination of non-heterosexual citizens. But so far, nothing's changed. Jenny Choying and her partner are clear about the kind of Hong Kong they want to see. We want same-sex marriage to be legalised, because it's our right. Of course, we want to see that everybody who wants a child can have the rights to have a child. Well, not having to pay a lot, or not having to worry about, oh, I might be illegal. But despite the difficulties, the two of them have not given up hope of having a family.

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

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London

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State of Rio Grande do Sul

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Council of the City of Sydney

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