India recently released guidelines which seek to limit the instances in which surrogate mothers can be commissioned. India is particularly popular for those seeking to reproduce through surrogacy as Indian law considers the commissioning mother to be the legal mother and absolves the surrogate mother of any legal obligation after the child has been born and placed with the commissioning parents.
The guidelines include a number of key limitations to surrogacy eligibility:
· The commissioning couple must be travelling on a ‘medical visa’ and not a ‘tourist visa’.
· Only heterosexual couples married for two years are eligible for the visa.
· The home country of the commissioning couple must certify that they recognise the commissioning couple as the legal parents of the child.
· There should be official confirmation that the child will be allowed enter the home country of the commissioning couple as the biological child of the couple.
· The procedure must be done at an assisted reproductive technology clinic recognised by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The guidelines appear to close the door for many couples wishing to pursue surrogacy in India. The necessity to be married has come as a surprise as the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill 2010 clearly mentions that unmarried couples, as well as single people can commission surrogacy.
Fertility clinics and gay rights activists have described the guidelines as discriminatory and restrictive. The Indian guidelines not only prohibit same-sex couples but may also prevent Irish couples from commissioning a surrogate in India.
Ireland has not legislated for surrogacy and those wishing to reproduce through surrogacy often travel overseas to avail of the service. International surrogacy has led to a number of complications for commissioning couples when they attempt to re-enter Ireland with their child born as a result of surrogacy. The Irish authorities consider the woman who gives birth to the child to be the legal mother of the child and a commissioning Irish mother can only obtain legal status through adoption. Therefore, an Irish couple will be unable to satisfy the guidelines’ requirements, firstly, to obtain certification that they are the legal parents; and secondly, to provide official confirmation that the child will be allowed enter the country.
Click here to read an article from Bioedge
Click here to read the report by the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction
Click here to read the Irish guidelines on surrogacy
Last week the Irish High Court delivered a significant ruling allowing for media reporting on a landmark family law action. The case concerns an Irish couple, the genetic parents of two children born through surrogacy, who are seeking to be listed as the children’s parents on their birth certificates. The Irish Times, the Sunday Times and the Irish Independent applied to be permitted to report on the case. The Attorney General and the General Registrar of births opposed the application. The High Court has permitted reporting on a restricted basis, meaning that only the legal issues and limited evidence may be reported.