The High Court of Justice gave the Israeli government an extra four months on Wednesday to fix the surrogacy law that it deemed unconstitutional due to its failure to include single men and same-sex couples in the legislation, meaning that the deadline will now be after the March 23 elections.
The state will now have until July 1 to fix the legislation to include single men and same-sex couples. The new government, or the interim government if a new government is not formed, will be responsible for meeting the deadline. After the government files an update on the status of the law by July 1, the petitioners will have until July 5 to respond.
“The High Court has rolled one hot potato to after the elections, and, if there is any consolation, it is that the state has now really run out of excuses,” said Etai Pinkas, an LGBTQ+ activist who filed the suit on the law and has in the past served as chairman of the Aguda – Israel’s LGBTQ Task Force. “We did not think it was right to accept the coronavirus excuse – it is not the real reason why the state has been dragging its feet in this petition for more than 11 years, as in many others. But now it is clear that if the government and the Knesset do not come to their senses, in about four months we will be able to see a final verdict for equality. We are waiting.”
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