Surrogacy Arrangements
Surrogacy Arrangements – Arranging The Process
As increasing numbers of women hold off starting a family far past their fertility peak, and as gay men discover the joys of parenting, there has been a substantial increase in surrogacy arrangements globally.
Today, with greater acceptance of surrogacy and advances in science, more women than ever before are having babies for those who cannot.
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child’s genetic mother (traditional surrogacy) or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship, transferred to her uterus (gestational surrogacy).
People who should consider surrogacy arrangements:
- Women unable to carry a pregnancy to term or women with recurrent miscarriages
- Women without a functioning uterus
- Women unable to conceive through infertility treatment, including donor eggs
- Male same-sex couples
- Men without a partner who want to parent and want to be genetically related to their child
Items to include in surrogacy arrangements:
- Who decides on how many embryos to transfer
- Where do all parties stand on abortion or selective reduction and under what circumstances
- Who selects the obstetrician and what to do if either the surrogate or intended parents wants to change doctors
- How involved will the intended parents be with the pregnancy and birth
- What standard prenatal testing will be done
- What expenses are eligible for compensation
- Guardian instructions in case both intended parents die
- Future contact between the surrogate and the child
- Confidentiality issues
- How parental rights will be finalised
- Insurance issues
It is in the best interest of both parties to consult legal advice on surrogacy arrangements as there are so many aspects and issues to consider. Contact Adele van der Walt Incorporated for professional legal advice regarding surrogacy arrangements.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at (SA) or e-mail us at susann@avdw.co.za
