We invite supporters who are residents in Ireland to write to their TD to raise their concerns about the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill and the introduction of commercial international surrogacy. The bill explores regulations or limits that should be placed on assisted reproductive therapies which covers IVF, and seeks to introduce a legal and ethical framework on this and new and developing reproductive science and technology.

At the second stage of reading, Minister for the Department of Health and Department of Children, Anne Rabbite said the Bill would fill a ‘legal vacuum in respect of domestic surrogacy’. Now the Bill is at Stage 3 when amendments can be added and below we draw your attention to some of the most critical parts of the Bill; which you may wish to raise concerns over with your TD. 

Part 7 of the Bill provides details on Domestic Surrogacy

• Can only be ‘gestational surrogacy’ – this removes the genetic link between the mother and baby, which will undermine a legal challenge if the surrogate mother changes her mind
• There must be a genetic link with one commissioning parent – this is mirrored in other surrogacy laws, such as England, Wales and Scotland
• The embryo transfer must be completed in Ireland and the child must be born in Ireland
• A surrogate mother must be at least 25 and must engage with surrogacy pregnancies no more than twice

The Bill in its final form is likely to incorporate the recommendations of the Special Joint Committee on International Surrogacy which is almost entirely commercial and therefore likely to exploit poor, and vulnerable women in other countries, where the Irish government cannot apply regulations or make checks on the circumstances or conditions for surrogate mothers. For example, both the Covid travel bans and the invasion of Russia, Ukraine* has exposed much of the true nature of commercial surrogacy.

The Special Joint committee supports surrogacy as a way of having a family and their report can be found here. There are 32 recommendations and we highlight 5 below which you should raise with your TD.

The Bill reports and progress can be found here:

Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 – No. 29 of 2022 – Houses of the Oireachtas

Introduction

Please say something about yourself, how and why you came to this issue and your principle concern. Perhaps you are a mother and your focus is the rights of the child, or perhaps you are concerned about women being used as a ‘medical instrument’ to ‘treat infertility’. An introduction helps personalise the letter as ‘template’ letters are often rejected.

From the 32 recommendations please draw attention to the following 5 recommendations in your letter.

1. Recommendation 3

The removal of the name of the surrogate mother from the birth certificate not only removes parental rights at birth but also removes any chance of legal recourse for the surrogate mother in the future. It also creates an inaccurate record for the child.

The Chair of the Special Joint Committee on International Surrogacy, Jennifer Whitmore said.

” While considering all parties, it is the children born through international surrogacy who must remain at the forefront of any framework implemented and we must ensure that no child is treated differently based on the circumstances of their birth.”

From the general Intro:

“Children’s right to know their history and identity, including their genetic, gestational and social origins must also be protected as underpinned by the Verona Principles.” 

There is another recommendation that suggests that a surrogacy register is introduced and it is recommended that children can access this aged 12. (In domestic surrogacy this is proposed to be lowered from 18 to 16.)

2. Recommendation 7 

Whilst we agree that independent advice for surrogate mothers is essential, this will be undermined by the payment being made by the commissioning parents to the surrogate mother. There can be no certainty of safety and high standards of care when operating outside of Ireland. This may be due to different legal provision and structures around the world as well as cultural differences and the way in which women are treated, as well as their motivations for a surrogate pregnancy.

3. Recommendation 9 

It will be very difficult to be certain there is no coercion of a surrogate mother when asking, or forcing her, to sign an affidavit. 

4. Recommendation 12 

Surrogacy arrangements are to be “fairly and ethically compensated” but figures or amounts are not included and payments can include expenses, which are limitless. There is no certainty that exploitation will not take place on a financial basis. (For example Recommendation 13 says that expenses can include ‘domestic labor’; what provision is there for other expenses to be loosely categorised and included to increase the payments to the surrogate mother?)

5. Recommendation 19 

Under the pre agreement before entering into the surrogacy arrangement no Garda vetting check for commissioning parents is being put forward.

• Please ask your TDs on how they define exploitation.
• Please ask you TDs how the Irish government will ensure that women are not exploited and children not trafficked via commercial surrogacy contracts.
• Please ask you TDs how international surrogacy arrangements will be recorded and if the deaths of surrogate mothers in childbirth will be recorded and whether the children will have access to this information independent of their parents.
• Please ask how will both only out-of-pocket expenses be controlled by the Irish government and also how they will ensure that only ethical clinicians are creating babies for Irish commissioning parents.

You may want to mention:

• Article 6 of CEDAW states that ratifying countries must “take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.” (Ireland signed and ratified CEDAW in 1985.)
• Pope Francis on 10th June 2022 “The dignity of men and women is also threatened by the inhumane and increasingly widespread practice of ‘womb renting,’ in which women, almost always poor, are exploited, and children are treated as commodities.”
• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states “contained in this treaty is a profound idea: that children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made, or adults in training”. Removal of the child to the jurisdiction outside of their place of birth via a commercial contract poses a risk of developing genealogical bewilderment as the child grows. That they may have a sense of being ‘property’ as the child ‘feels bought’ and the wider message to children – boys and girls – will be that there is a class of women whose purpose is for her to rent out her womb to meet the desires of others.

Resources

As Ireland has a strong connection with the international surrogacy in Ukraine you may want to mention some of the following articles:

1. The dark side of surrogacy in Ukraine (thetimes.co.uk)
2. Ukraine’s surrogate mothers are being used and abandoned (thetimes.co.uk)
3. Surrogate mothers choosing to stay in Ukraine (thetimes.co.uk)
4. Surrogate mothers fear pressure to flee Ukraine (thetimes.oc.uk)
5. Inside a Ukrainian baby factory – POLITICO
6. Surrogate motherhood and exploitation in Ukraine (Balcanicaucaso)
7. Costa Mesa couple barely escape Ukraine with days-old newborn (Los Angeles Times)

For a broader reading on the ethical issues with surrogacy please read this.

Ukraine is a popular destination as a global surrogacy hub, for more on suggested ban and proposed regulation of surrogacy in Ukraine please read this.For more on the arguments for the legalisation of commercial surrogacy please see

For arguments for the legalisation of International Surrogacy please refer to the survey from Cambridge Family Law Centre which shows that commissioning parents seek international arrangements because it is cheaper or laws elsewhere secure them parent rights at birth and our accompanying thread

You may also consider mentioning the evidence presented at the committee sessions such as:

1. Justice O’Hanlon would like to see the requirement for a genetic link with commissioning parents removed as there are ‘mix ups’ at clinics. This ignores genealogical bewilderment and does nothing to ensure that fertility clinics abroad meet the UK regulatory standards under HFEA or the NHS.
2. Candian lawyer, Ellen Embury says that the  risks of exploitation of surrogate mothers can be managed buy paying only reimbursable expenses and including psycho-social evaluation by ethical clinicians.

If you receive an email in reply to your letter we would be grateful if you could contact us to let us know. Please email stopsurrogacynowuk@gmail.com.