The law which currently governs surrogacy in the UK is not fit for purpose - Charlotte Coyle

There are several issues faced by intended parents, most significant of which being the lengthy process which can take many months to complete.

As the law currently stands, intended parents have to wait until the child is born before they can issue the parental order application and only upon the granting of a final order will the intended parents become legal parents.

The process can take many months to complete before a final order is granted and it simply does not reflect the child’s family life nor does it provide adequate rights for the intended parents if they need to make decisions about the child’s health or welfare whilst in their sole care.

It is therefore welcomed that the Law Commission’s recent report on Surrogacy ‘Building Families Through Surrogacy: A New Law’ and draft Bill proposes a new pathway to legal parenthood will allow intended parents to be legal parents from birth.

Furthermore, it is encouraging to see several recommendations for reform included with the draft Bill such as the creation of regulated bodies which will be non- profit-making bodies overseeing agreements under the new pathway which will provide support to the surrogate and the intended parents. It is hoped that this will bring about better regulation to monitor the surrogacy process and thus reduce the risk for all involved.

There are also proposals for reform to the law governing the payments that intended parents can make to the surrogate, providing better clarity around surrogacy payments which will make it more accessible for intended parents to navigate and apply in practice and guard against the risk of exploitation for the surrogate.

The Law Commission Report also proposes that there is no requirement for a genetic link between the intended parents and the child as well as the creation of a new Surrogacy Register to allow those born of surrogacy agreement to access information about their origins, ensuring the welfare of the children born is protected and that their emotional needs are met throughout their life.

It is encouraging to see the Law Commission Report on Surrogacy and draft Bill recently published, reflecting what needs to be done to bring the law on surrogacy into the 21st Century.

It is vital that the law changes to reflect today’s society, especially as the number of children born through surrogacy is significantly higher than it was over 30 years ago, when the UK law on surrogacy was written. The recommendations for reform to the current law is no doubt welcomed by all and will work better for children and provide better regulation, clarity and certainty for surrogates and intended parents.

We now wait for the UK government to consider these proposals made by the Law Commission and make them into law, which is eagerly anticipated and long overdue.

Charlotte Coyle is family law director at Freeths.