United Kingdom: New Study says IVF, Surrogacy cases in England, Wales see dramatic rise

A recent study by the University of Kent and 'My Surrogacy Journey', a non-profit organisation that helps surrogates and intended parents, states that the number of parents who had a baby through a surrogate in England and Wales has nearly increased four times in the past 10 years. As per the Parental orders, which is basically transferring the legal parental rights from the surrogate to the parents, increased from 117 in 2011 to 413 in 2020. The applications of the Two-thirds proportion of the surrogacy are now mixed-gender parents in their 30s or 40s.  

Surrogacy is the process of a woman carrying a child for another couple or individual. Most of the time it is done when someone is unable to carry a pregnancy for medical reasons or because they are in a same-gender relationship with a woman. 

Surrogate and intending parents connect through Facebook

Furthermore, it is prohibited to advertise surrogacy in the United Kingdom, so intending parents may have difficulty finding a match unless relatives or friends offer to contribute. Many non-profit organisations stated that many individuals are utilising non-profit agencies and social networking sites to effectively connect with surrogates and would-be parents.  

As per BBC, Fran and her surrogate Gina connected on Facebook and became friends. Fran who is 39, from Stockton-on-Tees, required a surrogate to deliver her two children, Evelyn and Grace, following cervical cancer operation as she could not carry them. On the other hand, as per the NHS guidelines, people seeking surrogacy should contact one of the four UK non-profit organisations rather than doing it alone on social media platforms like Facebook. 

While, Natalie Gamble, who is the director of Brilliant Beginnings, a UK-based non-profit organisation stated that they receive around 100 inquiries per month from women interested in being surrogates, and that number has grown significantly in recent years. 

UK surrogacy law

Surrogacy legislation is uniform across the United Kingdom, however, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal regimes. Only England and Wales are covered by the Department of Health's advice. Experts believe that the UK surrogacy law, which has been in operation since 1985, is outmoded and puts both surrogates and intended parents insecure especially during the recent time when surrogacy is growing increasingly popular. When a baby is delivered, the UK surrogate law declares the surrogate to be the legal mother, regardless of genes or any previous deals. Thus, a parental order is required to transfer legal parenthood to the intended parents.  

 As commercial surrogacy is banned in the United Kingdom, thus, any third party cannot be benefitted from the match. However, it is not unlawful for a surrogate to be paid costs. As per the non-profit organisations, it is estimated that such expenditures cost between £12,000 and £20,000 on average. 

The government recognises that the UK's surrogacy law needs to be updated and has requested the Law Commissions of England and Wales, as well as the Scottish Law Commission, to conduct an evaluation. 

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