EU Member States should be forced to recognise LGBT parents, even if they forbid it in their own legislation, a committee in the European Parliament believes. Especially opponents of surrogacy are concerned. By 14 votes to 4, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday agreed to the proposal to recognise parenthood acknowledged by one member state everywhere in the European Union. According to rapporteur Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, the current situation, where not all member states accept parenthood for LGBT families, is an unacceptable status quo. “This puts children at a significant risk, as they do not have guaranteed access to rights related to succession, maintenance and education.”