Surrogate Motherhood Laws
Surrogate Motherhood Laws Governing the True ‘Labour of Love’
In South Africa, the new surrogate motherhood laws that were put in place with the promulgation of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 on 1 April 2010 ensure that becoming a surrogate mother can only be undertaken for altruistic purposes, making it a true ‘labour of love’. Any mother who has experienced a full term pregnancy and birth, is the mother of at least one living child and who meets the necessary emotional, mental and psychological requirements is able to offer her services as a surrogate mother. No compensation whatsoever is given to the surrogate mother, bar expenses directly related to the birth and pregnancy.
Surrogate motherhood laws require a formal agreement
Whereas South Africa’s past surrogate motherhood laws required no legal formulation a surrogacy agreement, nowadays the High Court must first approve a written surrogacy agreement, which is signed by all parties to the process. This approval must be undertaken even before the in vitro process begins, to ensure that all parties know where they stand and what is required of them every step of the way. The new surrogate motherhood laws also require that all the partner of the surrogate mother, as well as both intending parents, sign the agreement and all parties involved undergo medical and psychological evaluation prior to the commencement of the surrogacy process.
New surrogate motherhood laws preclude the need for adoption
Past surrogate motherhood laws necessitated that intending parents undergo a formal adoption process after the birth of the child. However, surrogate motherhood laws now state that both intending parents become the legal parents of the child immediately after birth, if both of their reproductive cells (gametes) are used. However, should the surrogate mother contribute the use her own eggs for the process, then she legally has the right to terminate the surrogacy agreement within 60 days of the birth of the child, taking over full legal parental responsibility for the child.
Contact Adele van Der Walt Incorporated for more information on surrogate motherhood laws in South Africa.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at (SA) or e-mail us at susann@avdw.co.za
