Surrogacy

Baroness Walmsley Excerpts

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Barker for raising this important topic tonight and I agree with everything she said. There are, as we have heard, many issues to untangle and I, like the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, hope that the Law Commission will be able to consider what changes need to be made and make recommendations. I hope that the Government will then find time, during a very busy legislative programme, to take up these recommendations and make the necessary changes to bring the law up to date, which is being called for by parents and by judges.

It is desirable that every child is a wanted child, because it means that the child will be loved and that is what he or she needs, much more than a well-filled Christmas stocking. So, for the sake of the children and their new families, I hope we will hear from the Minister some willingness to put right the problems that have been outlined and which beset many couples trying to make a family through surrogacy. As we have heard from my noble friend, there are many reasons why people have to resort to surrogacy and clearly it is growing, so we must make sure that the law is brought up to date, adapts to changes in society and protects all those involved. The first principle, of course, must be the rights of the child and its health and well-being. Secondly, the rights of the surrogates and the commissioning parents must be fairly considered. Even though we have heard about some of its shortcomings, the law in the UK at least gives some sort of framework for this, but rules around the world vary. I hope the UK Government would take a lead in trying to get some comprehensive universal principles adopted, once we have our own house in order.

In preparing for this debate I read the debate in another place from 14 October 2014, and was very struck by the many practical difficulties encountered by MPs on behalf of their constituents. Even though the couples had tried to do everything correctly, they often met a brick wall. Many of the cases cited by MPs were of people who had resorted to surrogacy abroad because accessing it in the UK was too difficult or complicated, getting a passport for the child was slow or they were unsure of the law. There were lots of reasons, but brick walls were encountered. In those cases, it cannot be right that complications and delays in the administrative procedures for bringing the child home should cause a child to be without his or her parents in those first vital few months of life when bonding with the principal carer should be taking place, which is so important for their future mental health. But that is what happened in too many of those cases cited in another place.

We need a transparent structure that is as uncomplicated as possible, we need data—as the noble Viscount, Lord Craigavon, emphasised—and we need clear advice for parents intending to set out on this route to parenthood. Of course, this often happens only when many years have been spent exploring other routes, and failing with all the pain and stress that this causes. Sometimes, parents turn to other countries because they are considered too old to adopt a child in the UK, after many cycles of IVF have failed.

I agree with many of the demands of the organisation Surrogacy UK, in particular that a parental order should be applied for prior to the birth so that the child is never left without both its parents being known or, as in some cases, left stateless. I certainly agree that there should be no commercialisation of surrogacy. This is a wonderful and generous thing that a woman can do for another or for a same-sex couple and it should not be commercialised, apart from appropriate expenses. That brings me to fears that have been expressed about exploitation of surrogate mothers in other countries. This is a very difficult issue, as many of those who offer to bear a child for others live in very poor countries. There is nothing wrong with ensuring that she and her other children, if she has any, remain healthy, well fed and without stress during the process—but how do you ensure it is limited to that? It is very difficult. Large payments would be bound to lead to women who were not suitable seeking to be surrogates. This would be contrary to the principle that the mother must be protected as well as the child. We need some international standards to prevent that.

Another recommendation is for a clear agreement between the commissioning parents and the surrogate. There are so many things that may need to be decided and things that can go wrong; these need to be laid on the line right from the start. I certainly think that “friends first” is a very good idea.

From the health point of view, it is of course highly desirable that infertile couples get as much medical help as possible and in a timely way, so that surrogacy is not necessary. If that were the case, would-be parents may not have to take that route. Also, if UK surrogacy law were more in line with what is needed in today’s society, people would not need to go abroad. So I ask the Minister to promise us today that the Government will support the Law Commission review and act on its recommendations if it happens.