Our Channels Immediately following "National Coming Out Day" on October 11th, ichannel presents a special three-part @issue on gay parenting. "The Gay-by Boom" premieres October 13th, 14th and 15th at 8 and 11 Eastern and Pacific times. Kevin O'Keefe visits three same-sex households who open their homes and families to the ichannel cameras in this provocative, ground breaking series.
In episode one, "Adoption", meet Mario and Stephen Howard a married couple who adopted a little girl. However, their new family has not come without a cost. The Howards say that they have lost about 90 percent of their gay friends, who are unsupportive of their decision to be parents.
In episode two, "Surrogacy", we're introduced to a family that took two women and two men to create. Drew Gyorke and Sam Wong fertilized eggs donated by one of the women; then, the eggs were implanted into a surrogate. Eight months later, she gave birth to twin girls. The cost of the surrogate / donor recruitment processes, medical procedures, and legal services is generally between fifty and one hundred thousand dollars, and according to one reproductive lawyer, surrogacy is a "legal minefield".
The final installment is called "Co-Parenting", and it looks at lesbians and gay men who have children together, although they are not married or romantically involved. The program features Heather Carlson, Mike Hall and their three-year-old son Shaw, whose lifestyle is similar to any other traditional nuclear family unit, except Heather has a girlfriend and Mike is a gay man.
The three-part "Gay-by Boom" series is one of ichannel's new fall @issue shows; to subscribe to ichannel, contact your cable and satellite provider.
Technorati Tags: