RAINBOW FAMILY
Financial Barriers
As mentioned in the section of legal issues, undergoing artificial insemination and arrange surrogacy in foreign countries have become a common solution . Therefore, if the couple would like to become parents through these methods, the only option is to undergo these procedures in foreign countries.
According to statistics, it costs at least 20,000 USD (around 157,000 HKD) for in vitro fertilization (Shelton, 2023). This cost includes the donor sperm, medications, laboratory fees, egg retrieval, embryo transfer, embryo storage, etc. These fees may still vary depending on the choice of service. Additionally, with the travel expenses to the foreign countries and living expenses, the total cost for a lesbian couple to undergo in vitro fertilization further increases.
For surrogacy, it may incur a much higher cost. According to Growing Family, an organization that helps singles and couples give birth to a baby through surrogacy, the average cost for surrogacy ranges from 400,000 HKD to 1,250,000 HKD. This cost includes egg donor recruitment, surrogate recruitment, care and compensation, legal costs, embryo shipping costs, IVF costs, etc.
The average salary of a Hong Kong citizen is around 21,000 HKD. For an ordinary citizen in Hong Kong, they may not be able to afford the high costs of the surgery fee and the surrogacy fee. In an interview, Manfi Choi, a mother of a Rainbow family points out, ”I had to stay in the US for the in vitro fertilization. I believe not every lesbian couple have the financial ability and time to leave Hong Kong for the surgery.” Therefore, this may become a significant challenge for lesbian and gay couples to become parents.
