PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsCommentSurrogacy: What is so brilliant about 'Brilliant Beginnings'?

BioNews

Surrogacy: What is so brilliant about 'Brilliant Beginnings'?

Published 30 September 2013 posted in Comment and appears in BioNews 724

Authors

Dr Amel Alghrani

Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation/Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, University of Manchester

Dr Danielle Griffiths

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis

Surrogacy law is a mess and no longer fit for practice. As increasing numbers resort to the use of international surrogates or the 'murky waters' of the World Wide Web to find a surrogate, the law is relegated to cleaning up the aftermath...

'Brilliant
Beginnings', a new non-profit UK surrogacy and egg donation agency, was
launched earlier this year by Natalie Gamble Associates with the stated aim of
supporting intended parents, egg donors and surrogates through surrogacy
arrangements (see BioNews 719).

This new agency
will join other established surrogacy agencies such as COTS and Surrogacy UK in assisting and guiding
those who wish to found a family in this manner. Whilst such agencies serve a
vital function, they are limited by the legal landscape in which they operate.
The principal statute which governs this area, the Surrogacy Arrangements Act
1985, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Acts 1990 and 2008, offers
little coherence or guidance to those concerned. The 1985 Act, with its focus on
barring commercial surrogacy, is now out of touch with reality.

'Brilliant
Beginnings' is a brilliant beginning to the extent that it is being set up by
legal experts with sound knowledge and experience of the law in this area. It also
pledges to reinvest resources into campaigning for changes to surrogacy law and
regulation. But 'Brilliant Beginnings' must
operate under the same unsatisfactory legal landscape as the other voluntary
organisations. Echoing others, we argue the law in this context is a mess and
no longer fit for practice. As
increasing numbers resort to the use of international surrogates or the 'murky
waters' of the World Wide Web to find a surrogate (1), the law
is relegated to cleaning up the aftermath. It is the broader legal landscape that
must alter if there is to be better regulation and we propose a three-stage proposal for change.

Firstly, measures need to be implemented which
would not require changes in legislation. Reliable and accurate data on surrogacy in the
UK is rare. Any attempt to develop proper and effective regulation must
be based on sound knowledge and information. Improved data collection is called
for; more information could be gathered through parental order forms, for
example. We question whether accreditation of surrogacy agencies is necessary to
ensure that people are given sound and proper assistance.

Our second proposal involves making minor
but contentious changes to existing legislation; in particular, allowing a
moderate fee to be paid to the surrogate. While reasonable expenses are currently
permitted, parental orders (POs) have still been made in cases where expenses
have exceeded what is deemed 'reasonable'. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2010 makes
child welfare the paramount concern. This provision makes it unlikely courts
will ever refuse to retrospectively authorise payment and grant a PO when a baby
is already residing with commissioning parents.

Thus it is clear that even for those that
maintain commercial surrogacy should be prohibited, the law is failing to achieve this aim as increasing numbers of
people go overseas in order to seek out a surrogate (partly due to inadequate
law and regulation in the UK). We suggest that a minor change be made to the
legislation permitting payment of a 'moderate fee' and this would make many
arrangements much clearer and open. How this 'moderate fee' will translate into
practice is a matter for debate. Likewise, the questions of whether payments should
be restricted to moderate amounts, how much is moderate and what role the
surrogate mother should have all warrant further consideration.

Our third
proposal advocates setting up a Warnock-type review to consider a new Act and
creating a system of pre-conception regulation. The time is ripe for an
effective and wide ranging review of how surrogacy should be regulated in the
UK. The new regulatory regime should seriously consider a number of key issues:
whether we make surrogacy contracts post-birth enforceable; allow single people
to apply for parental orders; allow immediate transfer of legal parentage; allow
gestational surrogacy only; allow surrogacy only in cases of medical necessity;
and whether we should make the 'best interests' of the child central.

Only once we
have a better regulatory framework can we have a truly 'brilliant beginning'.

Related Articles

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
8 September 2014 • 3 minutes read

Radio Review: The Report - Surrogacy

by Chee Hoe Low

BBC Radio 4 's 'The Report' ventured into the ethically controversial area of surrogacy, which made international media headlines following the recent baby Gammy controversy...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
16 December 2013 • 4 minutes read

Event Review: Surrogacy for Same-Sex Couples

by Daniel Malynn

This event, hosted by the Bar Council, looked the options and potential pitfalls same-sex couples can face can face in accessing surrogacy both in the UK and overseas...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
7 October 2013 • 6 minutes read

TV Review: House of Surrogates

by Dr Kirsty Horsey

I'm not sure how a television documentary manages to be saddening, heartwarming, uplifting and worrying all at the same time. BBC Four's House of Surrogates, which focused on one provider of paid-for surrogacy in India, where all the women acting as surrogates for one Gujarati clinic spent 'their pregnancy away from home in dorms', managed it...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Comment
16 September 2013 • 3 minutes read

Recent surrogacy disputes in focus

by Louisa Ghevaert

Two recent surrogacy disputes have emerged from Wisconsin, in the United States, and South Africa which highlight the challenging legal and practical issues surrogacy can create....

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Comment
27 August 2013 • 4 minutes read

The 'Brilliant Beginnings' of surrogacy reform in the UK

by Natalie Gamble and 1 others

The landscape for opportunities to bring up a family through surrogacy and egg donation in the UK has changed - though not as fast as it has internationally. We live in a globalised world in which commercial surrogacy is a reality...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Comment
5 August 2013 • 4 minutes read

Surrogacy law: a call for change?

by Susan Imrie and 1 others

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority intends to update its guidance on surrogacy for clinics, and while we welcome this clarification, it is also important to consider how surrogates feel the law shapes their experiences...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
News
26 July 2013 • 3 minutes read

Indian surrogate mothers underpaid, unprotected in an unregulated industry

by Ari Haque

Indian surrogate mothers are frequently underpaid and insufficiently cared for, a report from an Indian charity claims. The Centre for Social Research in New Delhi says there is little protection for surrogates in a growing industry without an adequate legal framework...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Hype, hope and headlines

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

FILM: 200 Years of Mendel – From Peas to Personalised Medicine

1 August 2022 • 4 minutes read

Women's Health Strategy plans reflect rising needs of same-sex female couples

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Was the Women's Health Strategy worth the wait?

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Why the UK should extend the 14-day rule to 28 days

25 July 2022 • 5 minutes read

200 Years of Mendel: From Peas to Personalised Medicine

8 August 2022 • 4 minutes read

Citizenship and same-sex parents – about time, Sweden!

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

FILM: 200 Years of Mendel – From Peas to Personalised Medicine

1 August 2022 • 4 minutes read

Women's Health Strategy plans reflect rising needs of same-sex female couples

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Was the Women's Health Strategy worth the wait?

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Why the UK should extend the 14-day rule to 28 days

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856