In Argentina, surrogacy has been mostly considered an unregulated legal practice. The legal vacuum, combined with high medical standards, low costs, and the closure of surrogacy markets such as Ukraine, has made Argentina an attractive destination for individuals or foreign couples seeking to build a family through a technique prohibited or restricted in several European countries.

In Argentina, Law 26,862 of 2013 guarantees free access to assisted reproductive techniques, but it does not contain general or substantive regulations. The reform of the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation (CCyC) in 2015 incorporated 'procreative will' as a third source of parentage in assisted reproduction, alongside childbirth and adoption rulings, but did not include altruistic surrogacy or post-mortem fertilisation. Although it recognises procreative will over the biological element in assisted reproduction, the rule in the Civil Code is that the woman who gives birth is the mother of the child, with the other parent being the one who, together with her, gave prior, free, and informed consent (Artículo 562 – Voluntad procreacional).

The parentage of children born through surrogacy in Argentina must be established through judicial proceedings. Between 2011 and 2021, case law has recognised the parentage of children born through surrogacy to both heterosexual and same-sex couples in more than 52 cases. In order to achieve the legal establishment of a child born through surrogacy, two main paths have generally been followed. The first involves requesting prior judicial authorisation before the embryo transfer, and, if granted, the judge orders that at birth the child be registered as the child of the intending parents. The second path involves seeking their recognition as the child of the intending parents through a civil maternity challenge process or a constitutional claim for the recognition of their identity, once the child is born.

The only exception to individual judicial proceedings occurred between 2017 and mid-2024 in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, CABA). In 2017, a precautionary measure was granted in a collective amparo action (still ongoing), promoted by the Ombudsman of the City and the NGO FALGBT. It stated that, if the child was born in CABA, it was sufficient to notarise the informed consent documents and the reproductive collaboration agreement in order to register the child directly – albeit provisionally – at the Civil Registry as the child of the intending couple, without the need for a judicial process.

However, in 2024, the landscape changed. At the beginning of 2024, an anonymous call to the anti-trafficking hotline reported that vulnerable women were being recruited for surrogacy in the city of Córdoba. In parallel, following a report originating in Germany, a similar investigation was opened in CABA (for a related example, see here). The federal prosecutors' offices of Córdoba, Buenos Aires, and Santa Fe, with the collaboration of the Office for the Prevention of Human Trafficking and Exploitation (PROTEX), opened judicial proceedings for alleged human trafficking and exploitation of gestating women – involving, in CABA alone, the review of over 150 cases since 2017. These and other ongoing proceedings led to raids on the country's main fertility clinics and placed doctors, lawyers, psychologists, and intermediary agencies under both criminal and civil investigation, creating chaos.

The complaints allege that these cases were falsely presented as altruistic pregnancies, as there was no preexisting bond with the surrogate and money was exchanged. They alleged that women in vulnerable situations were being recruited, deprived of genuine freedom, and abandoned after giving birth, among other alleged irregularities. They also alleged that there existed a machinery designed to exploit poor women for the benefit of the fertility business. However, according to attorney María Rachid, director of Federación Argentina LGBT, the criminal and civil cases have not progressed due to the inability to establish the perpetration or commission of a crime. In fact, despite media headlines and prosecutorial reports speaking of 'human trafficking and exploitation crimes', most of the case files would fall under 'investigations into possible crimes'.

In this context, in October 2024, the Argentine Supreme Court issued its first ruling on a surrogacy and coparenthood case involving two men. The court held that there was no legal vacuum and that there was, in fact, regulation regarding surrogacy, since, as an assisted reproductive technique, it is subject to what is provided in the Civil Code: the mother is the woman who gives birth. The court's ruling did not recognise the reproductive agreement entered into and refused to exclude the surrogate as the mother. The court held that this possibility is not supported by law. The court added that the child's parentage must be settled through a special adoption proceeding, which is the legal instrument that allows a person to adopt, either partially or fully, the child of their spouse (in this case, the man registered as the father of the child).

The result of this unexpected shift in approach generated anguish and great uncertainty among intending parents and fertility clinics, especially in CABA, since, once the complaints began, the agencies and their representatives disappeared. This left both gestational carriers and intending parents without support and created serious problems for clinics. On the other hand, the direct registration process was suspended, making judicial proceedings mandatory, and it was no longer possible to register intending mothers or parents from same-sex couples in the civil registry. Between mid-2024 and early 2025, there were cases in which the departure of intending parents and babies born via surrogacy was prevented at border crossings.

This situation of uncertainty can only be overcome through a national law enacted by Congress that provides legal certainty for those considering surrogacy. Until legislation is clear, it is highly inadvisable for foreigners to pursue surrogacy in Argentina.

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The past, present and future of UK surrogacy law will be discussed at the free-to-attend online event 40 Years of the Surrogacy Arrangements Act: What Next for Surrogacy?, taking place on Wednesday 16 July 2025.

Find out more and register here.