By Brian Tobin | BioNews | Feb. 11, 2019
Ireland has the second highest rate of surrogacy in the world, despite the fact that intended parents who enter into international surrogacy arrangements are not recognized as legal parents upon their return to Ireland. Ireland’s new proposed surrogacy laws, contained in the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, will only allow for domestic, altruistic, gestational surrogacy and will leave those who engage in compensated international surrogacy without protection. This opinion piece argues for a child-centered approach in surrogacy regulation, one which recognizes the intended parents of the child, including those who hire surrogates in another country and gay couples where the non-genetic parent is currently not recognized.