Surrogacy agency under UK Government spotlight

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is currently assessing evidence provided by the Observer newspaper that a surrogacy agency registered in the UK could have broken surrogacy laws.

A joint investigation conducted by international media outlets, including the Pulitzer Centre and the Observer, suggested that the global surrogacy agency New Life, headquartered in London with multiple offices around the world, has offered multiple embryo transfers and sex selection to intended parents, both of which are restricted in the UK. By offering contracts which promise the recruitment of a surrogate for payment, the company could also have violated the UK's laws on commercial surrogacy. While altruistic surrogacy is permitted in the UK, commercial surrogacy is not.

'The terms of the agreement are: you will find me a surrogate and I will pay you money for it – which is still a criminal activity on their [New Life's] part' said UK surrogacy law specialist Dr Kirsty Horsey, who was asked by the investigating journalists to review one of New Life's draft contracts.

Emily Jackson, professor of medical law and ethics at the London School of Economics said 'this contract looks really concerning to me and the ownership issues sound worrying too'.

New Life had issued surrogacy agreements to intended parents for around USD$40,000 (£32,928) the investigation found, considerably less than what commercial surrogacy costs in the USA for example. Surrogates were recruited from countries including Mexico and Kenya, where surrogacy is not permitted but not explicitly banned, though the company said only its Mexico office was still running. Surrogates are often recruited through Facebook adverts – to clients mostly based in the UK, western Europe and the USA. These contracts require intended parents to cover medical bills and pay the surrogate a fee of USD$12,500 (£10,293) on delivery of a baby.

The investigation analysed marketing materials, contracts and other documents, and found some branches of New Life promote multiple embryo transfers and allow clients to select the sex of their baby. Multiple embryo transfers during IVF are discouraged in the UK due to the increased risk of stillbirth and neonatal death, as well as risks to the mother or surrogate, if a multiple pregnancy results. Sex selection of embryos is not permitted in the UK unless medically necessary (see BioNews 233).

New Life did not respond to questions regarding the enforceability of contracts issued by its London registered company, which it told the Observer 'acts as an international marketing and promotion tool' for affiliates around the world.

DHSC told Observer: 'We encourage people considering surrogacy to remain in the UK, take independent legal advice and use recognised UK-based surrogacy organisations'.