Overseas Surrogacy Clinics: A Warning for Parents

Surrogacy: A warning for parents using overseas surrogacy clinics

A highly unusual case has highlighted the importance of thorough research to ensure your surrogacy will be legal and your child will be granted citizenship.

The anonymised Judgment was released to “draw attention” to the case and “to offer some advice for those who may, in future, unwisely seek to follow the path taken by the two applicants”.

Surrogacy Arrangements

The intended parents, Ms W and Ms Z, were in a long-term relationship and both lived in the UK. They hoped to have two children and connected with a surrogacy clinic which they believed was in Southern Cyprus. They paid around £120,000 for the clinics services, which the court considered to be a very significant sum, akin to a “commercial rate”. Anyone considering surrogacy in UK should be aware that commercial surrogacy is prohibited and only reasonable expenses may be covered.

After the arrangements had significantly progressed, it came to light that the clinic was in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where both surrogacy and the placement of children with same-sex couples is illegal. As a result, they went through considerable difficulties trying to register the births of their children.

Immigration Issues

The children were not given Northern Cyprus Citizenship despite being born there and were effectively stateless. As the surrogates were both Ukrainian, it was hoped that the children could gain Ukrainian nationality, but this was also denied.

As the children did not have a biological or legal connection to the intended parents, the UK Home Office refused permission for them to enter the UK.

With limited options available to them, the intended parents made an application under the European Convention of Human Rights, Article 8. After four long years, the children were granted permission to enter the UK.

Parents without Parental Responsibility

The next issue was that the intended parents were unable to obtain parental orders and did not have parental responsibility for the children. This means they lacked the right or authority to make decisions for the children, for example, relating to education and medical treatment.

The only route left for the intended parents to gain parental responsibility was to attempt to adopt the children. This was a long, stressful and costly process, and the outcome was not guaranteed.

Warning from the Judge

The Judge, Sir Andrew MacFarlane, said “The account of the circumstances surrounding the birth of these two children strongly suggests that all four women at the centre of the arrangements were being exploited for commercial gain by those running this unlawful operation.” He warned that this case should not be taken as a precedent that in similar circumstances an adoption order would be made. “Put bluntly, anyone seeking to achieve the introduction of a child into their family by following in the footsteps of these applicants should think again”.

Parents who are thinking about entering commercial foreign surrogacy arrangement, must be aware that the courts in England and Wales may refuse to grant an adoption order, potentially leaving their children “permanently stateless and legally parent-less”.