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Families and surrogacy –tell us what you think abouta new law.
EasyRead version of:Summary of consultation paper:Building families through surrogacy: a new law
What is in this booklet Page
1. Introduction 1
About the Law Commissions 1
About this booklet 2
What we want to know 4
How to tell us what you think 7
What happens next 9
2. The law and surrogacy 11
What we are looking at 11
What the law says now 13
Why we need a new law for surrogacy 15
Our ideas to change the law 17
What the words mean 34
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1. Introduction
About the Law Commissions
The Law Commissions of England andWales and Scotland wrote this booklet.
We are independent and not part of theEnglish, Welsh or Scottish governments.
We look at the law and suggest changesto make it better.
We also tell the government when wethink we need new laws.
2
About this booklet
This booklet is part of a consultation on anew law about surrogacy.
Surrogacy is when a woman becomespregnant and gives birth to a child foranother family.
This is an EasyRead version of thesummary or shorter consultation paper.
It says:
● what we are looking at
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● why we think we need a law forsurrogacy
● our ideas to change the law.
The longer paper is on our websites:www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/surrogacy/
www.scotlandlawcom.gov.uk/law-reform/consultations
It is not in EasyRead.
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What we want to know
We want to know what people think aboutideas for the new law on surrogacy.
We would like to hear from as manydifferent people as possible. This includespeople who have been involved insurrogacy or are thinking about it.
Please tell us what you think, even if youdo not agree with our ideas.
The question numbers link to the sectionsin this booklet. You do not have to answerthem all.
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1. Should surrogacy organisations beregulated?
2. Will the new pathway protecteveryone better?
3. Making it easier to become the legalparents
4. Should the rules say how much asurrogate should be paid? Should shebe able to force the intended parentsto pay money they agreed to?
Pathway
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5. What do you think about a nationalsurrogacy register? What should be onit and who should see the information?
6. Do you think our ideas will make iteasier for intended parents to bring achild to the UK?
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How to tell us what you think
Please tell us what you think before11th October 2019.
You can send your answers:
By email [email protected]
By post to:Surrogacy TeamLaw Commission1st Floor, 52 Queen Anne’s GateLondon. SW1H 9AG
If you send your answers by post, it reallyhelps if you can email them to us as well.
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Please think about how you answer thequestions. Do not give us information thatmeans other people will know who you areor who you are talking about.
The longer consultation and questions areon our websites. But they are not inEasyRead.
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What happens nex
We will use your answers to help us writeour report to the government in 2021.
This will say what we think should happen.
We will also give them a first version ofthe Bill.
A Bill is a suggestion for a new law forparliament to look at and talk about.When they agree what it should say, theyask the queen to make it law.
t
Report
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The next part of this booklet is about ourideas for the new law and why we thinkthings need to change.
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2. The law and surrogacy
What we are looking at
Surrogacy is when a woman becomespregnant and gives birth to a child foranother family.
This means people who cannot have ababy themselves can still have a family.
This helps:
● women who cannot have a baby
● male couples or single men who wantto start a family.
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The woman who carries the baby is calledthe surrogate.
The person or couple she is having thebaby for are the intended parents.
Surrogacy can use the surrogate mother’seggs or IVF.
IVF is when an egg from a donor isfertilised outside the surrogate’s bodyand then placed into her womb to grow.
There are more surrogate births eachyear. But the law has not changed to giveparents and children the support theyneed.
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What the law says now
A surrogate mother does not have tohand the baby over to the intendedparents. Even if she signed an agreementto say she would.
When the baby is born, the surrogatemother is the legal parent. But the rulesabout who the second parent is are veryconfusing.
This means when the baby is born, neitherof the intended parents might be its legalparent.
The law says the intended parents canapply for a parental order. This meansthey become the legal parents of the child.
PARENTALORDER
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WEEKS6
But you cannot apply for a parental orderuntil after the baby is born. And a courtcannot make a parental order until thebaby is 6 weeks old.
At the moment, a court can only make aparental order if an intended parent hasdonated their eggs or sperm.
A court can also only make an order if thesurrogate mother agrees and the babywill live with the intended parents in theUK.
The court has to think about what is bestfor the child now and for the rest of theirlife.
PARENTALORDER
PARENTALORDER
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Why we need a new law for surrogacy
The law we use for surrogacy is from the1980s and lots of things have changedsince then.
People involved in surrogacy say they donot want to wait for the court to decidethings. They want the baby to be theintended parents’ baby as soon as it isborn.
What else is wrong with the law:
● it does not protect everyone involved
PARENTALORDER
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● the rules about paying a surrogate arenot clear
● it is difficult for children to find outabout their surrogate mother whenthey get older
● if a baby is born to a surrogate motherin another country it can take a longtime to get them a passport or visaand bring them home.
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Our ideas to change the law
We think these 6 ideas will give betterprotection to everyone involved insurrogacy:
1. Regulated organisations to make sureeveryone involved in a surrogacy keepsto new rules to protect them and thechild.
2. A new pathway or step-by-step plan tomake sure intended parents andsurrogates understand what theyagree to and protect them and thechild.
3. If everyone sticks to the new pathwayand the surrogate mother does notdisagree, intended parents willbecome the child’s legal parents assoon as it is born
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4. Find out how much people thinkintended parents should be able topay a surrogate
5. Have a national register withinformation about surrogates,intended parents and anyone whodonates their eggs or sperm to helpanother person have a child
6. We understand courts need to checkwhat is arranged with surrogatemothers in other countries. But wewant to make it quicker and easier forintended parents to bring the childhome to the UK.
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1. Regulated surrogacyorganisations
We think we need better regulation ofsurrogacy. This means organisationschecking that people keep to the rules inthe new pathway.
These organisations would:
● have information about surrogatesand intended parents
● help people set up surrogacyarrangements
● support everyone through thesurrogacy
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● make sure everyone keeps to the rulesand laws.
The Human Embryology and FertilisationAuthority would make sure theseorganisations work properly.
2. The new pathway
The pathway is a step-by-step plan thatstarts before a family choose a surrogatemother.
The steps are:
● finding the right surrogate mother –perhaps through a registeredorganisation or clinic
1.2.3.
Pathway
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● medical checks for the surrogatemother, her husband or partner andthe intended parents
● criminal record checks for thesurrogate mother, her husband orpartner and the intended parents
● independent legal advice for thesurrogate mother and intendedparents
● counselling to help the surrogatemother, her husband or partner andthe intended parents think about whatsurrogacy could mean for them and toprovide information about surrogacy
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● a written agreement between thesurrogate mother and the intendedparents
● information about the surrogacyarrangement goes on the nationalregister.
The written agreement would say:
● the names of everyone involved
● the name of anyone donating eggs orsperm
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● that everyone has followed the stepsto protect the surrogate mother, herhusband or partner, the intendedparents and the child
● there has been a check to make surethe child will be safe
● that the intended parents will be thechild’s legal parents as soon as it isborn
● that the surrogate mother can decideagainst this.
1.2.3.
Pathway
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At the moment, a court can only make aparental order if an intended parent hasdonated their eggs or sperm. There mightbe some medical reasons why this cannothappen. In these cases, we ask whether itshould be possible to become the legalparents where they have not donatedtheir eggs or sperm.
We would like to know if you think the newpathway protects everyone better.
3. Making it easier to become thelegal parents
Planning for the intended parents to bethe child’s legal parents should happenbefore the baby is conceived.
At the moment it only happens after thechild is born.
Pathway
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The new rules would check the surrogacyarrangements to make sure:
● the surrogate mother and intendedparents have a written agreement
● the child will be safe and well cared for
● the surrogate mother and intendedparents have counselling and adviceabout the law and surrogacy.
If they meet these rules, most intendedparents will become the child’s legalparents as soon as it is born.
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But if the surrogate mother does notagree with this, the intended parents willhave to apply for a parental order.
If the surrogate mother lives abroad thenthe intended parents would still have toapply for an order.
We think this would protect children betterand mean that the parents they live withas soon as they are born are their legalparents.
4. Paying a surrogate mother
At the moment the law says intendedparents can only pay the surrogatemother reasonable expenses.
PARENTALORDER
PARENTALORDER
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This means:
● any extra money she has to spendbecause she is pregnant
● any money she loses because she ispregnant.
Many people have very strong ideas aboutwhether or not a woman should be paidfor being a surrogate.
If so, should the rules say how much thisshould be?
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Should a woman be able to force theintended parents to pay money theyagreed to?
We would like to know what you thinkabout this.
5. A national surrogacy register
At the moment the surrogate motherusually registers the child’s birth. Then thelegal parents apply for a new birthcertificate when they have a parentalorder.
This can make it difficult for children tofind out about their parents.
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For each child, we think the register shouldsay:
● the name of the intended parents
● the name of the surrogate mother
● the name of any sperm or egg donor.
We also wonder if the register shouldhave information about things like thesurrogate and intended parents:
● height
● weight
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● ethnic group
● job
● interests
● religion.
Information about these things is alreadyrecorded for sperm and egg donors.
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The information would go on the nationalregister before the legal parents registerthe child’s birth.
The young person would be able to ask forinformation about names when they are18 years old and for the other informationwhen they are 16 years old.
They would also be able to ask for theiroriginal birth certificate. This would showthey were born from a surrogate mother.
We also need to think about whetherother people involved in the surrogacyshould be able to find out about eachother.
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We would like to know what you thinkabout the ideas for the register, whatshould be on it and who can see theinformation.
6. International surrogacy
International surrogacy is when:
● intended parents who live in the UK goto another country to make anagreement with a surrogate mother
● intended parents come to the UK fromabroad to find a surrogate.
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It can be difficult to bring the child back tothe UK so we think it would be better ifthese things changed:
● nationality – intended parents couldget a passport for the child morequickly. They could start to applybefore the child is born
● immigration – the child might need avisa to come back into the UK. If theydo, we think the intended parentsshould start to apply before the child isborn
● legal parents – intended parentscould become legal parents as soon asthe child is born in certain countries.The UK government would agree thecountry has laws to protect the childand make sure no-one takesadvantage of the surrogate mother.
We also think the government should haveone clear guide to explain internationalsurrogacy to intended parents.
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What the words mean
ConceivedBecome pregnant. When a baby starts to grow
ConsultationA planned and organised way of asking what people think aboutsomething.
CounsellingTime with a professional counsellor would help intended parentsand women who might be surrogates to work out how they feelabout things and to get information about surrogacy.
DonateTo give something. In surrogacy an intended parent mightdonate their eggs or sperm.
DonorThe person who gives their eggs or sperm in surrogacy.
FertilisedWhen an egg and sperm come together to make a baby.
Human Embryology and Fertilisation AuthorityThe organisation that regulates things like IVF treatment andresearch.
Intended parentsThe person or couple a surrogate mother has a baby for.
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IVFWhen an egg from a donor or parent is fertilised outside awoman’s body and then placed into her womb to grow.
Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish LawCommissionIndependent organisations that look at the law and suggestchanges to make it better. They also tell the government whenthey think we need new laws.
Parental orderWhen the court decides who are a child’s legal parents.
RegisterA list of people or organisations.
RegulatedControlled by rules or laws to make sure they work properly.
SurrogacyWhen a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child foranother family.
SurrogateThe woman who gives birth to a child for another family.
VisaOfficial papers that say you can go into another country.
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