Surrogacy Legislation
Changes In Surrogacy Legislation
Whereas in the past surrogacy in South Africa was fairly unregulated, with the recent changing of surrogacy legislation the surrogacy landscape has changed somewhat. Firstly, in order for all parties involved to begin the surrogacy process by way of in-vitro fertilisation, they have to first enter into a written agreement, which has to be confirmed by the High Court of South Africa. All parties – both commissioning parents, the surrogate mother and her partner – need to give their consent to the process and sign the agreement and at least one of the commissioning parents and both the surrogate mother and her partner must be legal residents of South Africa.
Whilst this may sound more restrictive in comparison to the fairly informal processes of surrogacy in South Africa prior the change in surrogacy legislation, these laws actually protect all parties throughout what is an emotionally charged process. Most importantly, these laws also protect the child born as a result of a surrogacy agreement, ensuring that he or she does not grow up in uncertain terms between any or all of the parties should they land up altering their agreement in any way down the line.
Additionally, the new surrogacy legislation sets out that the process cannot be undertaken for commercial gain, with the surrogate mother only being able to claim for loss of income and any expenses incurred directly as a result of the surrogate pregnancy. This ensures that the deplorable process of ‘baby-farming’ cannot take hold in the system and that all participants are truly aligned in their intent with the surrogate process. Additionally, with the changes in legislation comes good news for the commissioning parents, who are now no longer required to undergo an adoption process after the birth, as was the case previously, but rather can proudly fill in their names on the birth certificate as the official parents.
These are just some of the new laws surrounding surrogacy. For more information, contact Adele van der Walt Attorneys, experts in surrogacy legislation and agreements.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at (SA) or e-mail us at susann@avdw.co.za
