Legal Rights and Protections for Surrogate Parents

Surrogacy is when another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for the couple who want to have a child.  One or both of the couple may provide the genetic material for the child. You should seek legal advice before entering into a surrogacy arrangement.

What rights does the surrogate have?

A surrogate (whether or not they are genetically related to the child) is considered the child’s legal mother until and unless that status is altered by an order of the court (a “Parental Order” – see below).  A surrogate mother (who will be giving birth to the baby) will be entitled to statutory maternity leave and pay in the same way as other employees. Being a surrogate does not affect your right to maternity leave, even after the child is born.

Who is the second legal parent?

Who becomes the second legal parents at birth depends on the circumstances.

Where the surrogate mother is married/ in a civil partnership, her husband/civil partner (unless s/he did not consent to the surrogacy arrangement) will be treated as the father of the child until and unless a Parental Order is granted.

If the surrogate mother is not married/in a civil partnership, the person providing the sperm will automatically be the second legal parent at birth. They may be eligible for paternity leave and Statutory Paternity Pay.

The surrogate may also nominate another second legal parent (for example, the intended mother). To do this, both the intended second parent and the surrogate will need to give their consent before the surrogacy takes place by completing the relevant consent forms. This is a complicated process and you are advised to seek advice from your clinic early on if you wish to do this.

After birth: how does the legal responsibility get transferred onto the intended parents?

Where a couple have entered into a surrogacy arrangement with the surrogate mother they may apply for a Parental Order which, if granted, transfers the legal parental responsibility on to those two people.   A single person can not apply for a Parental Order in a surrogacy situation.  In order for a Parental Order to be granted, a number of conditions must be satisfied including:

• the surrogate mother is not one of the applicants
• one of the applicants has provided genetic material
• the applicants are partners, and the child’s home is with the applicants.

You must apply for a parental order within the first 6 months of childbirth.

Surrogacy Abroad

If your surrogate gives birth abroad, you can only apply for a parental order if you and your partner are living in the UK.

The child will need a visa to enter the UK during this process. Different countries have different rules for surrogacy arrangements, so applying for a parental order in this scenario can be complicated and may take several months to complete.

Source: workingfamilies.org.uk

Learn more About International Surrogacy In Ukraine:

Delivering Dreams helps couples throughout the world struggling with infertility have children. Located in NJ and Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine, our amazing medical facilities and professionals, surrogates and donors are in Ukraine, because Ukrainian law protects the rights of parents and their children from inception at affordable costs and high success rates.

Unique to Delivering Dreams, we offer guaranteed not to exceed, all-inclusive pricing and contracts under US law to provide prospective parents legal and financial security.

You are not alone. We want to be your path to parenthood. Contact us to find out more about how much does surrogacy cost.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.Delivering-Dreams.com and www.international-surrogacy.com, 1.908.386.3864