By Jaslecta

The parent trap-Sunday looked at the complications around surrogacy

Surrogacy is often a last resort for couples that can’t conceive.  It is legal to use a surrogate in NZ, however it is not legal to pay for the service.  The expectations on a surrogate are enormous so why not reimburse them for all the time spent nurturing your baby?

As of now parents have no rights from the moment the embryo is implanted, the father is considered a sperm donor only.

“In private arrangements the child is always genetically related to the surrogate mother.”

The baby is genetically the surrogate’s even if both the egg and sperm are form the prospective parents or other donors.  This is the law if the surrogate arrangement was a private one.

If it is done through an IVF clinic parental rights are determined on a case by case basis.  Please follow the link below.

http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/nzlc/pp/PP54/PP54-4_.html#Heading1208

It seems we need a new law clearly stating that the prospective parents are given the legal parental status for the child from the moment of its birth.  If everyone is clear on this from the outset this could solve much unnecessary heart ache and misunderstandings.