Surrogacy

Infertility is one of the most painful experiences that a happily married couple must face. At the end of often years of investigations and many thousands of dollars they are left with the option of only having a child through surrogacy this being the process of contracting another woman to have a couple’s child. Enter the word “surrogacy” into any European Google site and you will immediately find Ukraine as the most popular country in Europe for surrogacy. We will look at some reasons why that is so and some of the problems and ethical issues that are raised.

There are two different sorts of surrogacy one involving the genetic material of one of the surrogate parents - usually the father’s sperm - to fertilse the surrogate mother, it is also sometimes used where the couple are fertile and yet the woman cannot continue with a pregnancy or more rarely when the woman of an infertile husband cannot or wishes not to carry the child of a sperm donor. The second scenario is where a genetically unrelated embryo is place in the surrogate’s womb. Whilst this distinction is of little importance in Ukrainian law, it is of importance in many other countries.

The reasons Ukraine is a popular centre for surrogacy are probably twofold. The first is that Family Law on Ukraine has always taken the stance that adopted children have a birth certificate holding the names of the adoptive parents and no indication of the real parents, this means that a younger child who is adopted grows up with no stigmatism of being adopted, but is denied the knowledge of its true parents. This is generally in contrast to most western european countries where the right to know ones parents is seen as of prime importance, and in some countries this also includes the right to know a sperm or egg donor. I wonder if Ukraine has it right in contrast to the rest of Europe; over the years I have seen several patients who have grown up with a sense of stigma of being adopted and have then sought out their genetic parents, only to be rejected by them. From Ukraine’s procedures for adopted children it was not a major step to legislate that a child born through a surrogacy agreement should be treated in the same way.

Secondly Ukraine has essentially a non-regulatory climate in Family Law leaving areas such as surrogacy free from all but contractual control, interestingly this climate is in stark contrast to the views of the Orthodox church. Surrogacy in Ukraine is essentially controlled by a legal contract that at a certain point essentially hands the child over to the new parents and releases the surrogate mother, and indeed her spouse, from any future rights over the child. The drawing up of these documents and their execution should be done by experienced lawyers who have a working knowledge of Ukrainian Family Law and clients who can testify to their competence. Their is little regulation of the agencies or lawyers or the process in general.

Most Ukrainian surrogacy mothers come from Ukrainian villages some married, some not, they are all tested for obvious genetic diseases and infectious diseases. The sum of some $10,000 dollars in payment is obviously very large to such a person and the concept of earning money from surrogacy does not sit easily with everybody. In some countries such as the UK the grant of a parental licence is dependent upon money only being paid for reasonable expenses.

The ethics surrounding surrogacy are equally ambivalent. Are women correct in selling their reproductive abilities for money? Is any harm in psychological or physical terms done to the mother or child? Are the benefits to all concerned perhaps greater than any harm. Should Ukraine as a country with Europe’s lowest fertility rate allow the loss of children through surrogacy arrangements or do the financial incentives allow women to continue to have larger families. Should society regulate such practice or allow individuals to make the choice - essentially what happens in Ukraine. Finally should we apply ex-patriot ethics to a process that happens in Ukraine where ethical and psychological issues may be seen to be different. There are few clear answers to these questions but maybe it is better for individuals to make the choice rather than governments.

For most foreigners contemplating a surrogacy arrangement in Ukraine - and as social funding cuts hit across Europe and decrease the access to infertility services the numbers coming to Ukraine will undoubtedly increase - the greater problems often exist in their home countries securing the legal return of their new child and its naturalisation as a citizen. The recent case of French parents trying to smuggle twins out of Ukraine has highlighted this dilemma for France along with some other countries does not recognise surrogacy. Some countries demand to have proof that one parent of the child is their citizen, usually by DNA testing, and other countries insist in the legal release of the child by the husband of any married surrogate making the use of a single surrogate mother more attractive. Where surrogacy follows a gifted embryo and neither new parents are genetically linked obtaining citizenship and travel document is even more difficult and protracted. Whatever the regulations these formalities often take many months and add to the stress of the new mother often left alone in Ukraine.

The complexities of surrogacy make it essential that potential parents seek legal advice both in their home countries and in Ukraine, use a reputable agency and lawyers here and advice from their embassies in Ukraine and be prepared for delays and formalities in returning with their new baby. In the end nothing however detracts from the joy of the new parents in their new child and an end of their suffering.

Wednesday, 06 July 2011

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