Surrogate Motherhood Legal Issues
Surrogate Motherhood: The Legal Issues Involved
Most women who offer their services as a surrogate mother do so to assist couples who, for whatever reason, are unable to carry and birth their own child or children. In so doing they become a tangible link in the miraculous chain of new life. However, whereas in the past the whole process was fairly informal and unregulated, now when it comes to surrogate motherhood, legal issues exist which should be carefully examined before going ahead with the process.
Fit for surrogate motherhood? Legal issues to consider
If you have a desire to experience surrogate motherhood, the legal issues surrounding the process must first be examined. Questions you should ask yourself prior to going ahead are:
- Have you experienced at least one full term pregnancy, given birth to and have at least one living child? If not, you will not be considered suitable as a surrogate mother.
- Do you want to become a surrogate mother purely for altruistic purposes? It is a criminal offence to accept compensation of any kind for being a surrogate mother, save for costs directly related to your pregnancy and the birth of the surrogate child.
- Are you emotionally and psychologically capable of surrogate motherhood? Legal issues involved here include you undergoing prior emotional and psychological screening to ensure you have the capacity to go through with the process.
- Would you always secretly feel like the surrogate baby is ‘yours’? With the new laws governing surrogate motherhood, legal issues to consider here include the fact that the intending parents now become the legal parents and guardians of the child immediately upon birth, and you will have no legal rights to the child. The exception is if you consented to the use of one of your eggs for the process, in which case legally you would be able to terminate the agreement within 60 days of the birth and become the legal parent.
Contact Adele van Der Walt Incorporated for more information surrogate motherhood and legal issues to consider.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at (SA) or e-mail us at susann@avdw.co.za
