For female couples, two questions sit on top of everything else: which country will treat us as a couple, and will we both be recognised as our child’s parents when we get home? The first has clear answers. The second is where careful legal planning matters most.
Where same-sex couples are eligible
| Country | Female couples | ROPA | Donor sperm | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Allowed | Yes | Yes | Couple eligible together |
| Portugal | Allowed | Yes | Yes | Couple eligible together |
| Greece | Restricted | — | Yes | One partner may proceed as a single woman |
| Czech Republic | Restricted | — | Yes | Heterosexual couples only |
| Poland | Restricted | — | Yes | Heterosexual couples only |
| Turkey | Restricted | — | Banned | Married heterosexual couples only |
Verified June 2026. Greece legalised same-sex marriage in 2024, but that did not grant female couples joint ART access as a couple.
The ROPA method, explained
ROPA, sometimes called shared or reciprocal motherhood, lets both partners take part biologically. One partner’s eggs are retrieved and fertilised with donor sperm; the resulting embryo is transferred to and carried by the other partner. One becomes the genetic mother, the other the gestational mother, an arrangement many couples find deeply meaningful. Spain recognised ROPA in 2007 and Portugal also permits it. Where ROPA is not available, a couple can still use one partner’s eggs and the same partner carrying, the standard route.
Sperm donor rules
Female couples need donor sperm, so anonymity rules apply just as they do for single women: anonymous in Spain and the Czech Republic, identity-release in Portugal and the UK, both options in Greece. Decide which you want, because it shapes what your child can learn at 18.
The legal-parenthood catch (read this before you book)
A country can treat you as a couple and still leave a gap when you go home. In Spain both mothers can be registered as legal parents locally, but your home country decides whether it recognises that. The non-gestational or non-genetic partner sometimes has to secure parenthood through a second-parent adoption or a court order back home. Sort this out with a family lawyer in your own country before treatment, not after the birth. It is the most common and most stressful surprise for couples who skip this step.
What it costs
Costs mirror the figures in our IVF cost by country guide, with donor sperm and, for ROPA, a second partner’s medication and monitoring adding modestly to the total. Use the Finder to compare against US or UK prices for your situation.