The legislation was rejected because it mentioned same-gender couples as possible surrogate parents.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv after the Knesset voted down an amendment to a bill on surrogate parenthood which would have allowed same-gender couples to become parents via surrogacy. The bill itself, which extends those surrogacy rights to single women, passed the Knesset vote.
“Netanyahu is a homophobe, so we took to the streets,” one of the banners read. “Homophobia is terrorism, no excuse will help,” read another.
“The Knesset launched a war against the gay community today, and the community will fight back,” one of the protest organizers said. “The prime minister's smiling face while he voted for hatred and against the gay community shows his huge disconnect with the government.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted against the amendment that would have extended surrogacy rights to same-gender couples, Haaretz reports.
In response to the criticism, the prime minister attempted to justify his vote by saying the amendment would “torpedo” the bill it was attached to, the main goal of which was to allow single women to become parents through surrogacy. He said he would support a similar bill that would extend surrogacy rights to single men.
”I support surrogacy for single fathers,” Netanyahu said Sunday in a closed meeting with Likud party MPs.
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