Couple will go to court after INSS denies maternity pay – 06/04/2023 – Mônica Bergamo

A couple formed by two LGBTQIA+ businessmen will sue the INSS (National Social Security Institute) in court after the body denies one of them the grant of maternity pay, a benefit provided for people who leave work because of the birth of a child .

André Tonanni, 37, and Helio Heluane, 45, are the parents of a three-month-old baby, conceived through in vitro fertilization and carried in a supportive womb. The genetic material of the two was used during the process.

Helio decided to take time off from work to take care of the child and, as a contributor, resorted to Social Security to have access to his salary. After submitting a series of documents, however, his request was denied last week.

“We have been taxpayers for many years and, when it came time to receive this benefit, we found ourselves completely helpless. Before the government, our family composition does not exist”, laments Helio Heluane.

From the INSS, he heard that his case did not fit the conditions for granting maternity pay, which also includes women who undergo “non-criminal abortion” and people who adopt.

Sought by the column, the agency stated that it follows what is provided for in the legislation and that “there is, so far, no legal provision for granting maternity pay to a male person for childbirth occurring through a solidary belly”.

“To be entitled to the benefit within the current norm, it would be necessary for the insured person to present a term of custody of the child and, in addition, to prove the removal from remunerated activities after the generating factor (child’s birth) – a situation that did not occur”, said yet.

The couple, however, presented a birth certificate in which the names of the two appear. In the column, André and Helio also state that at no time was any type of proof of removal from paid activities been requested.

Questioned again, the INSS did not answer why it required a term of custody in view of the existence of a birth certificate. Nor did it clarify, until the publication of this text, whether, in fact, proof of absence from work was requested from the entrepreneur.

In addition to the denial, Helio reports having heard inconvenient questions and statements throughout the maternity salary application process, such as “who is the mother?”, “how were you born?” and “I can’t fit you into the system.” Sometimes, he had to explain that it was a biological child, even though it was conceived in a supportive womb.

The method, allowed in Brazil, does not generate financial return for those who give up the uterus and is widely used by the LGBTQIA+ public and by heterosexuals with fertility issues.

“To have the child, it was already a battle. Now, we face others”, says André Tonanni, Helio’s husband. He says that, before the couple’s child was born, eight in vitro fertilization procedures were performed, two of which resulted in miscarriages.

With the delivery, there was a new problem: the health plan did not want to reimburse the hospital expenses incurred with the birth. After being sued in court, the agreement proposed an agreement.

Despite the difficulties and all the questions, André says he is motivated to claim his rights as an LGBTQIA+ father and to show that family compositions are changing. “We are building a world for my son to have other fights. This one can let us play”, he says.

He says he intends to mobilize other parents who have gone through the same situation as his to try to present a class action to Justice. “My interest is not just ‘I won my lawsuit and maternity aid, life goes on’. No, because the country hasn’t changed, the law hasn’t changed and the INSS hasn’t changed. I want to change the law”, she says.

On Instagram, a profile in which the couple reports their routine as first-time parents already has 145,000 followers. On TikTok, the numbers for the “2 Papas” account are even more expressive: there are 3.7 million likes and 246,000 followers.

“People come to us out of curiosity to see a different family configuration”, says Tonanni. “We really show our face. We have resources and we are privileged people, and I believe that it is a responsibility that the world gives us to raise this flag and bring information.”

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MEETING

Journalist Xico Sá attended the premiere of the project “Sinapses”, idealized by the journalist, screenwriter and director
artist Eduardo Beu. The event took place on Wednesday night (5), at the Rooftop of Jardim Pamplona Shopping, in São Paulo. Pianist Juliana D’Agostini also attended.

_{with BIANKA VIEIRA, KARINA MATIAS It is MANOELLA SMITH}

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