Since the arrival of his son, Robert Ray Daley-Black, through surrogacy, Olympic diver Tom Daley has been commissioned by the BBC to host a documentary about the issue.

Surrogacy will feature Tom and his husband, Oscar-winning screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, examining a topic they both have such a connection to. The programme will look at the differences in laws between countries, for instance, in the UK it is illegal to advertise for a surrogate or pay them to carry your baby. Money can only change hands for expenses which would be considered reasonable. In the US, however, commercial surrogacy is common, with contracts between the parents-to-be and the surrogate.

Daley will interview women who have been a surrogate to find out their reasonings why and how the process went. On the other side of the debate, the show will also feature people who are strongly opposed in order to find out the beliefs behind their opposition.

When Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black originally announced the upcoming birth of their child, they did receive support from a majority of the public, but there was also a substantial backlash from those who were strongly opposed. Some dubbed the decision “child abuse”, saying it was “evil” and “wicked” and called the pair “an abomination”, which all goes to show the uphill battle many families face.

In Ireland, surrogacy and opposition towards it was used to try and cloud the issue in blocking the eventually successful passing of the Marriage Referendum.

The situation for families in Ireland who have had children through a surrogate is still nigh-on impossible to navigate. In a recent interview with GCN, one of a same-sex couple spoke of how their family may be forced to move to the UK where his partner would be legally recognised as the parent of their son and daughter if the government doesn’t introduce legislation that would see this resolved soon.