Joint Committee on International Surrogacy has published its Report

Speaking on the report, Deputy Jennifer Whitmore TD, Cathaoirleach of the Committee said “The Joint Committee was tasked with expeditiously considering and making recommendations on measures to address issues arising from international surrogacy, having particular regard to the rights, interests and welfare of children born through surrogacy (both in the future, and existing children), of surrogates and intending parents.”

Deputy Whitmore said “The Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2022 (AHR Bill), which is currently going through the Houses, provides Ireland with an opportunity to bridge the gap in our laws and which has long been a cause of concern to international human rights bodies and to the Irish Supreme Court. The AHR Bill provides for domestic surrogacy and countries such as the UK and New Zealand are currently reviewing their long existing laws on international surrogacy, so the time for debate is now timelier than ever.”

The Deputy added “The Committee met over several weeks and engaged extensively with academics, legal experts and stakeholders from various organisations, nationally and internationally, on measures that can be taken in the implementation of a framework to address the issues raised. Members also engaged with children, families and surrogates who have lived experience of the surrogacy journey. By sharing their personal stories, they provided members with direct insight into the challenges they faced and continue to face in their daily lives by the lack of legislation in this area. Importantly, there was significant agreement among the witnesses that the biggest risk to the welfare and rights of children, surrogates and intended parents currently is the lack of regulation by the State. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to sincerely thank all the witnesses who assisted the Committee in this important work.”

Deputy Whitmore said “The Committee has made a number of recommendations and we hope they will assist Government in this important area. It is my hope that Ireland can take a lead in this very important global issue by tackling this complex, yet important, area and providing a timely and robust framework that will protect all those involved.”

Read the Final Report of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy

Among the 32 equal recommendations made by the Committee are :

The Committee, having regard to the evidence presented to it, recommends that:

1.     where an international surrogacy arrangement meets the criteria set out in the guidelines recommended by this committee, the intended parents should be able to apply to the courts for a parental order in respect of both parents.  This must be carried out in an expeditious process.

2.     the parental order shall name the intended parents and child born through international surrogacy, and shall declare the intended parents to be the parents of the child, equal in rights to the child regardless of biological connections, and that the order creates an entitlement to all rights and an obligation to all duties, prescribed by statute or otherwise for the parents and child in relation to each other.

3.     the parental order shall name the surrogate, declaring the severance of any parental relationship with the child and removing all parental duties and responsibilities from her prescribed by statute or otherwise.

4.     The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956 should be amended to provide that following a parental order being issued, in a case where either intended parent is an Irish citizen, the child born through surrogacy named in the parental order, if not already an Irish citizen, shall be an Irish citizen.

5.     intended parents in international surrogacy arrangements should be obliged to provide evidence that the necessary requirements are met in order for a parental order to be issued. This should not bar the exercise of judicial discretion in exceptional circumstances.

6.     no surrogacy arrangement should be entered into in a country which prohibits surrogacy and this should be a bar to a parental order in the event that a surrogacy arrangement is engaged in such circumstances. The surrogacy arrangement should be legal in the country in which it takes place, and all local requirements on the surrogate and intended parents should be met.

7.     the surrogate should receive independent legal advice, medical advice and counselling before the surrogacy. The cost of this should be borne by the intended parents.

8.     the intended parents should receive independent legal advice in Ireland and the country the surrogacy is taking place, medical advice and counselling before the surrogacy.

9.     a written agreement should be drawn up between the intended parents and surrogate, detailing the particulars of the arrangement, to ensure all parties are aware of their rights and consent to their responsibilities.

10.  the surrogate should sign an affidavit following the birth, confirming her consent for the transfer of parentage to the intended parents, and confirming that her right to bodily autonomy was not breached during the surrogacy

Read more about the work of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy