LGBTQ+ Parenting

Whilst barriers remain, it is increasingly accessible for LGBT+ people to become parents. There are 217,000 same-sex couple families in the U.K. as of 2022 – up 1256% from 16,000 in 1996. ( LGBT+ Parents Report 2024 Just Like Us)

There are several ways of becoming a parent if getting pregnant by sex is not an option. Possible ways to become a parent include donor insemination and IUI (interuterine insemination), both of which are done through licensed fertility clinics.

https://www.hfea.gov.uk/choose-a-clinic/

There is also the option of surrogacy. Surrogacy is legal in the U.K. but it is illegal to advertise for surrogates and the surrogate cannot be paid a fee. For more information https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/surrogacy/

Adopting or fostering is another parenting choice. 1 in 5 adoptions in England in 2023 were to same-sex couples, according to statistics published by the Department for Education . Some 600 adoptions in the reporting period were to same-sex couples, which is both the highest total number and proportion on record in the country (New Family Social)

In 2021 1.7% of all couple families were same-sex, an increase from 2011 (1.5%). Same-sex  families had a higher proportion of younger dependent children than other family types (ONS Census 2021)