Tag: surrogacy regulations

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

Georgia, We Have a Problem: Surrogacy and Exploitation

Winifred Badaiki | Impact Ethics | March 26, 2021

Many intended parents seek surrogacy services in the Republic of Georgia because prices are among the cheapest globally. Due to Georgia’s poor economic situation, many Georgian women turn to gestational surrogacy to escape poverty or other precarious situations. However, the country’s lack of surrogacy regulation means surrogates have few if any rights, and the industry often exploits the power dynamic between the low-income carriers and middle-class intended parents.

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New Laws Needed on Surrogacy, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Says

Noel Baker | Irish Examiner | April 1, 2021

The Irish Special Rapporteur on Child Protection wrote a report calling for comprehensive surrogacy regulations to better serve surrogacy-born children. These recommendations would  address an arena entirely unregulated in Ireland. They call for a pathway to parentage through surrogacy, incentivizing domestic surrogacy arrangements over international ones, and greater rights for children, among other suggestions.

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Children ‘Should Have Right’ to Know Donor Parents From Age of 12

Sheila Wayman | The Irish Times | March 31, 2021

Professor Conor O’Mahony authored a report titled A Review of Children’s Rights and Best Interests in the Context of Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction and Surrogacy in Irish Law. The article focuses specifically on the recommendation that donor-assisted and surrogacy-born children have the right to request and access information about their genetic parents from the age of 12, rather than 18, which is in current law. Mahony recommends these provisions after the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs requested a review of children’s best interests in surrogacy cases.

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Parliamentary Panel Says ART Not Appropriate For Live-in or Same Sex Couples

Bindu Shajan Perappadan | The Hindu | March 20, 2021

In India, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare issued a report recommending that the 2020 version of the Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) Bill exclude unmarried and same-sex couples from use of ART, arguing that would be in the best interest of the children born through those services. The Committee also suggested that the government make IVF more accessible to poor communities by opening ART facilities at every medical institute and premier hospital. The report notes the urgent need for regulation and monitoring to prevent uncontrolled commercialization of the ART industry in India.

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Poor Legal Regulation Threatens Health of Ukraine’s Egg Donors

Kate Baklitskaya and Magdalena Chodownik | New Eastern Europe | March 15, 2021

This article highlights the need for stricter regulation of surrogacy and egg donation in Ukraine and Poland, underscored by additional risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Early travel bans left many newborns stranded in Ukraine, and the current economic decline may be motivating more women to sell their eggs for extra income. However, Ukraine and Poland have not developed legislation to protect egg donors’ safety and privacy.

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Russian State Duma Proposes Bill Restricting Surrogacy…Again

Christina Weis | BioNews | March 15, 2021

This commentary addresses the recent bill amendment, proposed by the Russian State Duma, which would restrict surrogacy to heterosexual married couples with Russian residency. Current law allows heterosexual unmarried couples and single mothers, regardless of residency status, to pursue commercial surrogacy. A co-author of the bill said the restrictive amendment is motivated by last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns and travel bans, which prevented many foreign clients from collecting their surrogacy-born newborns. The Moscow Times also speculates that allowing single men and women to hire surrogates goes against Russian family values.

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High Court Pushes Deadline to Fix Surrogacy Law After Elections

Tzci Joffre | Jerusalem Post | March 12, 2021

This article provides an update on Israeli surrogacy law: the High Court had sent back the latest amendment to the government after deeming it unconstitutional for failing to include single men and same-sex couples. LGBTQ activists have been advocating for changes to the law for 11 years. Most recently the government again attempted to avoid the issue, allegedly to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, but the Court granted the government only a four-month extension to July 1, after the upcoming March 23 elections.

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China’s LGBTQAI+ Couples Completing Their Families Using Surrogacy

Vice | March 18, 2021

Surrogacy and LGBTQ+ rights both lie in a legally grey area in China. Same sex couples in China who want to have a child sometimes seek surrogates and fertility treatment abroad––which involves prohibitive cost.

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