The Law Commissions’ joint report, Building families through surrogacy: a new law was published on 29 March 2023. The report follows a review of the law of surrogacy from 2018 which included the publication of a consultation paper on 6 June 2019 and a subsequent consultation period. The Law Commissions’ report makes recommendations for a reformed law of surrogacy, which would replace the current law with better regulation, while retaining the non-commercial or altruistic culture within which surrogacy operates in the UK.
The report recommends the creation of a new pathway to legal parenthood, which would allow the intended parents to be the child’s legal parents at birth without the need to apply for a parental order. Access to the new pathway will be controlled by non-profit regulated surrogacy organisations (RSOs), regulated by the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the independent fertility regulator.
The report includes a draft Bill, which, if it becomes law, would implement the Law Commissions’ recommendations for law reform. It is for the UK government to decide whether and when to introduce the Bill. Under the terms of the protocol between government and the Law Commission of England and Wales, the responsible Minister should provide an interim response to the recommendations within six months of publication of the report and a full response within a year.
The report can be found here.
