Big Brother supremo and reality television star Brian Dowling has revealed he feared his daughter would be taken away following her birth via surrogacy
The 45-year-old said he was so worried about his daughter being taken away due to what he called ‘Ireland’s archaic surrogacy laws’.
He told the Irish Sun that he was terrified due to the lack of legislation.
He said: “Aoife (my sister) is considered Blake’s legal mother. One of us has legal rights over our daughter. One of us does, as obviously, one of us is Blake’s biological father.
“I hate saying that; it’s like saying one of us is valid and one person is not, but that is genuinely how I feel about the situation.”
He said he remembered being at the hospital after the birth of Blake, and Aoife was signing the paperwork. The couple was assigned a social worker, and all he could think was the worst.
He said: “I kept thinking the worst was going to happen, and I didn’t sleep for six weeks.”
Brian’s husband, Arthur Gourounlian, said he had waited many years to become a father and knew it would become a reality someday.
He said: “I came out at 20, and 23 years later, I have this beautiful child. Life is very unpredictable. You can’t plan ahead.
“I’m a living day-by-day person, and my dream came true.”
The Irish Government look set to recognise all previous international surrogacy arrangements and regulate the process for families in the future.
Families have been left vulnerable by the lack of enforced legislation on surrogacy in Ireland, but the introduction of the tightened laws means the country will be one of the first in the world to tackle the complex issue.
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