Category: Articles

Travel Exemptions Granted For IVF Tourism and Surrogacy

Caitlin Fitzsimmons | The Sydney Morning Herald | June 13, 2021

A surrogacy education charity is helping Australian citizens obtain COVID travel exemptions from the government to go abroad for IVF treatment or surrogacy arrangements not available under federal or state law. All but one state in Australia forbid commercial surrogacy and all require egg donation be altruistic, so eggs are not available and intended parents are traveling outside the country for fertility treatments. Proponents of the Australian surrogacy legislation express shock that such a charity would help citizens circumvent a law meant to protect women from the exploitative nature of commercial surrogacy. 

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Legal Rights Call For Children Born Through Surrogacy

Ailbhe Conneely | RTE | June 10, 2021

The absence of surrogacy regulation means that Irish mothers have no legal ties to children born through international surrogacy and have to apply for guardianship after two years. The Department of Health has been drafting a bill on assisted reproduction since 2017, and is expected to address concerns about surrogate requirements and regulations. The timeline for the bill is unknown, but will only recognize domestic surrogacy and is likely to consider the recent report by the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection. In the article, Cathy Wheatley, mom to two surrogacy-born children, expresses desire for intended mothers to have legal recognition in surrogacy situations, “because they have two parents who love them beyond belief…and we’ll just continue to fight for their rights…”

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Reforming the Law on Surrogacy: Reflections on the APPG on Surrogacy Report and Law Commission’s Consultation Paper

Charlotte Park-Morton | BioNews | June 1, 2021

This commentary discusses two papers calling for change in United Kingdom surrogacy guidelines: the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Surrogacy Report and the Law Commission’s Consultation Paper. The language in the 2020 APPG report is reflective of current legislation, which refers to surrogacy-born children as passive subjects of protection under the law, whereas the 2019 Law Commission’s paper underlines the importance of addressing the children as individuals with rights. Moving forward, surrogacy-born individuals are expected to pressure law reform to focus on children’s access to donor information.

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Hard Labour: The Surrogacy Industry in Kenya

Naipanoi Lepapa | The Elephant | May 28, 2021

This two-part report in The Elephant and accompanying video expose the dangers of the unregulated Kenyan surrogacy industry and feature stories of exploitation of surrogates by agencies.

Article Part 1

Article Part 2

Video

Female Politicians Want to See Paid Leave for IVF and Miscarriage Ordeals Introduced

Louise Burne | Extra.ie | May 31, 2021

Sparked by a Labor Party Bill which proposed 20 days paid leave after miscarriage as well as 10 days paid leave for fertility treatment, many female politicians in Ireland have been sharing personal stories regarding their fertility journeys. Currently, Ireland is the only country in the European Union that does not offer state support for fertility treatment. During the legislative debate, several senators spoke about the emotional and physical trauma that followed fertility treatments or miscarriages and called for government-funded IVF and paid leave.

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Ethics of Surrogacy During COVID-19 Pandemic

Cathy Sakimura and Emily Galpern | Men Having Babies Blog | April 29, 2021

Men Having Babies posted this ethical approach to surrogacy during COVID, by Surrogacy360’s own Emily Galpern and National Center for Lesbian Rights’ Cathy Sakimura. This approach strives to minimize the effects of gender, economic, global, and racial inequities that impact the bargaining power of people acting as surrogate or egg donors; to ensure that surrogates’ basic rights and ability to achieve a just contract are respected; and recognizes the rights of people born through surrogacy to legal security and knowledge about their origins. Intended parents must also not be discriminated against due to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

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Babies Stranded in Suburban Chicago, Thousands of Miles From Parents, Because of Bureaucratic Delays

Sylvia Perez | Fox 32 Chicago | April 21, 2021

Surrogacy-born babies in suburban Chicago continue to be stranded 15 months into the pandemic, miles away from their intended parents in Taiwan and China. Embassies there are not accepting in-person appointments, so the parents cannot obtain the necessary travel documents to pick up their children. One surrogacy agency worker and her husband have cared for four such babies in the last year during these bureaucratic delays.

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State Department Will Recognize Citizenship of Babies Born to a US Citizen Through In Vitro Fertilization or Surrogacy

Connor Perrett | Business Insider | May 18, 2021

The State Department announced that children born through surrogacy or IVF in other countries are automatically considered US citizens if one parent is a US citizen. Previously, children born abroad were required to be genetically related to the parent with US citizenship, but under the new policy, the genetic connection can be to either married parent. The updated policy will particularly alleviate the process of having children through assisted reproduction for same sex couples.

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Same-sex Couple Fight for Children Born via SA Surrogacy to be Granted Citizenship in Namibia

Kirthana Pillay and Sisipho Skweyiya | Sowetan LIVE | April 16, 2021

Namibian Philip Luhl and his husband Guillermo Delgado have welcomed three surrogacy-born children delivered in South Africa, but are struggling to obtain Namibian citizenship and travel documents for the children. The Namibian government requires proof of a genetic link to acknowledge parentage and to issue travel documents; it also does not recognize same-sex marriage. Luhl argues that these laws permit discrimination and violate human rights.

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State Has Acted to Ensure Couple Can Return From Ukraine with Newborn, Judge Says

Aodhan O’Faolain | Irish Times | April 16, 2021

An Irish couple who traveled to Ukraine to welcome their surrogacy-born son, were not going to be allowed to return home. New travel bans were enacted while they were away, requiring travelers from certain countries to pre-book a quarantine hotel. The couple challenged the government’s failure to ensure their return to Ireland as a breach of their constitutional rights and endangerment of their newborn’s health. High Court Judge Brian O’Moore announced the State would pass regulations to allow the family to return to Ukraine without having to quarantine.

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