Surrogacy

Surrogacy is when a woman (the surrogate mother) agrees to bear a child (the intended parent) and surrender it at birth. There are two types of surrogacy.

• Partial (also known as traditional surrogacy) – this method uses the egg of the surrogate mother and the sperm of the intended father. This can be performed in an IVF clinic or by artificial insemination at home. In this situation the child is biologically related to the intended father and the surrogate mother.
• Full (also known as gestational or host surrogacy) – this method uses the egg of the intended mother combined with the sperm of the intended father or donor sperm. In this case an IVF clinic is always required. A child conceived by this method has no biological connection to the surrogate mother.

Surrogacy agreements are unenforceable in the Courts, even if the contract has been signed and the reasonable expenses of the surrogate have been paid. The Family Court has a wide discretion to act in the best interest of the child which means there are no guarantees.

Under English law, the woman who carries the child is the legal mother. Therefore, the legal mother of a child born through surrogacy is always, at birth, the surrogate mother. This means that in surrogacy cases the intended mother has no recognition as a parent even if she is the child's biological mother.

It is therefore important to obtain legal advice at the earliest stage possible – ideally, even before the pregnancy takes place. The Fertility Team can assist you in obtaining a Parental Order.

Parental Orders extinguish the parental status of a surrogate mother and give full parental status (and parental responsibility) to the intended parent(s) – be that single carer, heterosexual, lesbian or gay couple.