Gay Singapore man wins appeal to adopt surrogate son

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A gay Singaporean citizen has won a case to adopt his biological son who was born in the United States through surrogacy.

The 46-year-old man, who has not been identified, won an appeal with Singapore's high court to be legally recognized as the parent of a Pennsylvania-born boy, now 5, the Straits Times reported Monday.

The court initially ruled against the plaintiff, a pathologist who employed a surrogate mother in the United States for $200,000, to give birth to his biological son, according to the Straits Times. The egg donor has not been identified, according to the BBC.

"Our decision was reached through an application of the law as we understood it to be, and not on the basis of our sympathies for the position of either party," Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon wrote in his judgment.

Gay marriage is outlawed in Singapore, and the child is illegitimate, according to local regulations.

But justices said the "first and paramount welfare of the child" was taken into consideration before ruling in favor of the plaintiff.

The boy's father and his partner have lived together for 13 years. Singapore's attorneys have previously said the couple went to "great lengths to circumvent the laws of Singapore to start a family unit," and that the application for adoption should be dismissed.

Surrogacy is illegal in Singapore, but Menon said this week the policy is not sufficient to cope with an issue the government is "not prepared to step into."

"This is important because family is important no matter the orientation of the parent, and family is the cradle of society," said Koh Tien Hua, the plaintiff's lawyer. "This judgment recognizes the important role of the family in the child's life and found that an adoption order would be for the child's welfare."

Singapore bans gay marriage but locals celebrate the community with an annual pride rally.