The Popularity of Surrogacy in Ukraine

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The Popularity of Surrogacy in Ukraine 20.07.2016 16:16

The right to maternity and paternity is one of the basic moral rights of the couple under Art. 49.50 Family Code of Ukraine. However, there are circumstances due to health reasons, which could foreclose the couple of realization of this right naturally. But this does not mean that the couple can’t become parents, as an alternative way out - to go for help to the surrogate mother.

History of origin of surrogacy

The origin of the procedure began in ancient times, which was caused by the need to transmit inheritance or transfer power or infertile wife. That’s why the surrogate motherhood was often used by noble kings and wealthy people. But only the man (father) had genetic connection with the child. This type of motherhood is called gender (traditional), where the woman not only bears a child, but also has a direct connection with the child, because of donating the egg. Nowadays, with the development of technology, the connection with the child can have both: father and mother, it is called gestational motherhood, as a result of the emergence of technology of artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization when surrogate mother’s body only serves as a biological incubator.

The world heard about the successful modern surrogacy at first time in 1980, which took place in the US state of Illinois. After that, the phenomenon became more and more popular, concordantly the supporters of surrogacy, and its opponents begun to appear. In many countries, such as Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, the law bans a method of assisted reproductive technology (ART). In some countries, such as Canada, Israel, of Denmark, Spain and Italy only non-commercial surrogacy is permitted. The Ukrainian law allowed both commercial and noncommercial surrogacy, and this is one of the reasons of the popularity of medical tourism in Ukraine.

Legal regulation of surrogacy in Ukraine

Today in Ukraine legal regulation of surrogacy provides: the Family Code of Ukraine, the Order of Ministry of Justice of Ukraine of 18 October 2000 r. № 52/5 «On approval of rules of civil registration in Ukraine» and the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine 09.09.2013 number 787 «On approval of the use of reproductive technologies in Ukraine». In the same time, the lack of legislation is the lack of a codified legal act which would fully regulate the surrogacy contract, his background, effects and features, but the interests of all parents still can find protection in certain provisions of Ukrainian legislation to guarantee them the realization of their rights and attracts foreign citizens.

Another reason for the popularity of Ukrainian surrogate mothers among European parents is the price. In Europe the price will be bigger in two or three times. Cheaper services are only in India, but their law is on the side of surrogate mothers, not on the of parents’ side, as a result the risks are higher.

The requirements for surrogate mother

There is no clear definition of a surrogate mother in Ukraine's legislation to find. However, analyzing Part 2 art.123 Code of Ukraine, we can conclude that surrogate mother - is a woman, in whose body human embryo, conceived by the couple, as a result of assisted reproductive technologies was moved, the child's parents are the couple. The Order of Ministry of healthcare of Ukraine of 09.09.2013 number 787 «On approval of the use of reproductive technologies in Ukraine» establishes the following requirements to be met by surrogate mother:

adult female, maximal age isn’t stipulated in the law, but usually a woman of 40 years;
the presence of at least one healthy child of her own;
the absence of medical contraindications, mental and physical illness;
the availability of voluntary written statement of consent to embryo implantation.

Surrogate mother - is the foundation of the successful outcome of surrogacy, so it takes a lot of time to find her. There are various options how to choose surrogate mother. One of the most common is to search among relatives and friends. The obvious advantage is that the parents are acquainted with the future surrogate mother of their child. Moreover, in this case the cost will be lower and the supervision of the surrogate mother and providing her with all necessary - easier, because close contact is already installed. The negative aspect lies in the complexity of the relationship after childbirth and privacy.

Another option to search, and more reliable, go for help to specialized agencies which assume such responsibilities:

seeking a surrogate mother, according to the wishes of parents,
ensure all issues and conflicts that arise in the process.

In fact, the biological parents are required to sign an agreement to take the child and pay for all the costs will be much higher than if the parents were involved in surrogate motherhood itself, which is the negative side of this option. However, if you do everything yourself, the risk to encounter scam is very high, which could lead to larger and wasteful spending.

The procedure of negotiations with the surrogate mother

After selecting a surrogate mother by prospective parents, between them negotiations are held. The subject of the negotiations is the future conditions of the contract of surrogacy, essential conditions of which is often are:

the size and procedure of payment of surrogate motherhood;
surrogate mother’s accommodation;
rules to be observed by surrogate mother;
method of movement, food and way of life of future surrogate mother;
rights of biological parents before, during pregnancy and after birth;
responsibility of the parties for failure or improper fulfillment of their duties, where can specified the penalties for systematic violation of the contract by the surrogate mother or even predict deprivation of the right to adequate compensation in failure mode, which will have negative affect on the child;
grounds for early termination of the contract.

Confidentiality is a prerequisite for agreement on surrogacy.

Surrogacy in Ukraine is quite popular among foreigners who are in search of a surrogate mother. High probability of force majeure, not compliance with the terms of the contract, violation of confidentiality, improper fulfillment of obligations of a party project surrogacy requires a clear indication of rights and obligations in contracts for services of surrogate motherhood. «APC» law firmsince the beginning of its work successfully have accompanied more than 100 couples from Ukraine and other countries within the surrogacy.

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