The attitude in society towards surrogacy is ambiguous. Some believe that this is an immoral act of turning a child into a commodity and exploiting the female body. Others say that this is the only opportunity for childless people to get a genetically native baby. We discussed this issue in our other article.
Let us dwell in more detail on the state regulation of this issue. Surrogacy is strictly prohibited by law in Muslim countries – Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, as well as Japan and China. Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Norway, Austria prohibit at the legislative level to resort to surrogacy. Some states of America – Arizona, New Jersey, Michigan – also apply to this.
There are jurisdictions where the use of surrogate mother’s services is allowed, but on an altruistic basis – these are the Australian state of Victoria, Portugal, Canada, Great Britain, the American states of New Hampshire, Virginia.
In many European countries, such as Belgium, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic, there are no clearly spelled out legislative acts on surrogacy, but in fact it takes place. This means that future parents do not receive any legal guarantees – a surrogate mother can take the newborn for herself, and they, having paid for a set of procedures, will be left with nothing.
It is worth noting that in some countries (Canada, the Netherlands, Finland), the relevant law prohibits anonymity in matters of surrogacy, IVF or donation of biological material. This also obliges parents to provide full information about the donor and the facts of birth to a child who has reached the age of 18.
