Tag: Ukraine

Before Going To Fight, Many Ukrainians Are Freezing Their Sperm

The Economist | January 8 2023

The war in Ukraine upended international surrogacy there. Now clinics have pivoted to offering Ukrainian servicemen and women to freeze their sperm or eggs at low or no cost to preserve their chances to have children even if they are killed or injured in action. 

Read the full article ->

Global Surrogacy Agency Accused of Putting Women at Risk With ‘Unethical’ Medical Procedures

Shanti Das & Simon Bowers & Malia Politzer | The Guardian | December 18, 2022

UK surrogacy laws require intended parents to apply to become legal parents, which can take up to a year to be finalized. In the meantime, intended parents have no legal rights to the child, including the ability to make decisions  in the case of medical emergencies.

Read the full article ->

Inside Ukraine’s Surrogacy Crisis: The Australian Families Caught In The War

Kathryn Madden | Marie Claire | November 2, 2022

With a legislative prohibition on compensated surrogacy, many Australian couples look abroad for surrogates, sometimes pursuing dangerous or illegal arrangements. Do these precarious agreements leave surrogates vulnerable to exploitation?

Read the full article ->

How Ukraine’s Surrogate Mothers Have Survived the War

Maria Varenikova and Andrew E. Kramer | The New York Times | October 16, 2022

Despite wartime challenges, Ukrainian surrogacy agencies are resuming operations. Compensation has helped some surrogates and their families flee to safer areas, but the surrogates themselves face new dangers in an ethically complex occupation.

Read the full article ->



Surrogacy, Ukraine And Me

Katie O’Malley & Sungsil Lee | Elle | September 21, 2022

Wartime has thrown the Ukrainian surrogacy industry into disarray for surrogates and couples alike. One couple’s surrogate had to be evacuated to Poland, and complex parentage laws across continents have made their #surrogacy journey “a mountain of challenges.”

Read the full article ->

Surrogacy During the War in Ukraine

Updated September 6, 2022

See Ukraine as International Surrogacy Destination for context on the surrogacy industry in Ukraine

The Russian war on Ukraine is having a devastating effect on millions of people and the country’s infrastructure and land. One lesser-known area of anguish is the impact on newborn surrogacy-born babies, surrogates and their families, and the babies’ parents from other countries. Ukraine is one of the largest hubs for international surrogacy in the world, second only to the United States. Minimal regulation and low cost make it a popular destination for foreign couples—though only available to married heterosexual couples—and economic hardship gives rise to more women willing to provide surrogacy services. This roundup of articles presents a number of stories of harrowing and dangerous situations for infants, surrogates, and new or soon-to-be parents as well as analyses regarding the invisibility of surrogates in media coverage and the unequal options and resources available to commissioning parents vs surrogates in Ukraine.

Read more ...

Ukraine’s Surrogate Mothers Carry Foreigners’ Babies as Debate Grows Over Who Bears the Risks and Rewards

Janice Dickson | The Globe and Mail | August 19, 2022

In Ukraine, commercial surrogacy agencies are pairing foreign clients with Ukrainian surrogates again, even as the war continues. The Globe and Mail interviews multiple surrogates who say they need the money but are worried about their safety amidst the war.

Read the full article here ->

Ukraine Conflict Highlights Legal Issues Surrounding International Commercial Surrogacy

Sophie Cameron | International Bar Association | July 29, 2022

The recent Supreme Court decision in the US and the war in Ukraine Illustrate how the absence of an international convention on surrogacy arrangements and of parentage laws impact surrogates and children.

Read the full article here ->

In a Time of War, How Ukraine Sought Protection of its Frozen Embryos

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology | July 11, 2022

During the annual European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting, an IVF lab director gave a presentation on the courage and professionalism of Ukrainian fertility doctors amidst the Russian invasion. He also called on the international ART community to help employ these doctors abroad.

Read the full article here ->

Russia Moves to Bar Foreigners From Using its Surrogate Mothers

South China Morning Post | May 25, 2022

If passed, a newly-proposed Russian bill will bar foreigners from entering into surrogacy arrangements with Russian surrogates. This follows as Moscow’s relations with Western countries grow tense over the war in Ukraine.

Read the full article here ->