Hong Kong judge rules in favor of lesbian couple's parental recognition
in landmark case
[September 09, 2025]
By KANIS LEUNG
HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong judge ruled Tuesday in favor of a lesbian
couple's parental recognition of their son born through reciprocal in
vitro fertilization in a landmark case.
The couple, identified as B and R, underwent the medical procedure in
South Africa in 2020 after getting married in the country. During the
treatment, an egg was extracted from R and was fertilized with sperm
from an anonymous male donor to create an embryo, which was then
transferred to B's womb. The boy was born in Hong Kong in 2021, but only
B was listed as his mother on his birth certificate.
Judge Russell Coleman's ruling over the judicial challenge was a step
forward for the LGBTQ+ movement in a city that does not endorse same-sex
marriages but is working toward a framework to recognize same-sex
partnerships.
Coleman said in a written judgment that parts of Hong Kong's Parent and
Child Ordinance “significantly impede” the boy from representing his
relationship with R to the outside world.
He agreed that if one gets to an analysis, “a reasonable balance is not
struck between the societal benefits of the measure and the inroads made
into the rights of the affected individuals.”
“The constitutional challenge is made good,” he said.
He added that although he found a proper basis for a directive to
address the matter, he stopped short of handing that down because he
hoped to first hear further arguments on what the relief should be.
It is unclear how many couples would benefit from Coleman’s ruling.
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People walk out of the Hong Kong High Court in Admiralty, Hong Kong,
on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP photo/Kanis Leung)
In a separate court ruling in 2023 concerning B and R, Judge Queeny
Au-Yeung said that while R does not fall within the statutory
scheme, she declared that R is a parent of the boy “at common law."
The judgment cited a legal opinion noting that the couple are
recognized as his parents under South African law.
In parts of Europe, court rulings have already granted same-sex
couples better legal parental recognition in recent years.
The European Court of Justice in 2021 ruled that a child with two
mothers certified in one EU nation must also be recognized by the
other EU members as such. In May, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled
that two women can register as parents of a child on a birth
certificate though the country has maintained strict restrictions on
IVF and a ban on surrogacy since 2004.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong lawmakers are set to resume their debate
Wednesday on proposals to allow residents who have already formed
unions overseas to register their partnerships locally.
The government bill emerged from one of the legal victories in
recent years that expanded rights for same-sex couples. If passed,
eligible couples will be able to secure rights on medical and
after-death matters. But its passage is uncertain given fierce
opposition in the legislature.
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