The desire to leave the continuation of the bloodline is free from borders, national and racial prejudices. Infertile couples live all over the earth. And UK residents are no exception. However, the British legislation on ART issues, namely, surrogacy, has specific features and needs reformation, forcing childless families to take their chances abroad.
Feskov Human Reproduction Group is based in Ukraine, one of the most loyal countries to this method of reproduction. The center helps people who have lost hope, including those from England, to turn into real parents.
Surrogate mother’s rights in the UK
In England and Wales, the law considers the child’s real mother, the woman who gave birth to it, even if it is a surrogate. If a woman is in an official or civil marriage, then her husband / partner is recognized as the legal father of the baby.
No written or oral agreements, contracts are legally binding. In order to become legal, intended parents must apply to the courts for a Parental Rights Ordinance within six months of having a child. This establishes legal paternity and confirms who is responsible for the infant.
However, the court issues this document only after the surrogate mother and her husband / partner sign their consent to transfer the rights to the child. If she does not consent, the court can transfer custody of the child to future parents, but cannot turn them into legal ones.
What to do if the surrogate mother decided to keep the child?
A surrogate mother may change her mind and refuse to give up the baby. Such cases are rare, but they do happen. It is at least possible to establish the legal paternity of a genetic dad if:
- a woman is single. Then the biological father is indicated in the documents for the child and bears his parental responsibility under the law;
- the surrogate has a partner who is not an official or civil husband. Therefore, the intended biological father can be recorded as such in the birth certificate.
It can take 6-9 months to successfully complete the Parental Order. Given that the surrogate mother must give her consent to the transfer of rights to the child no later than 6 weeks after delivery.
If she refuses to transfer the child, the intended parents can go to Family Court to apply for guardianship. In this situation, the court will review the Social Security Checklist. Which includes:
- Physical, emotional and psychological needs of the child.
- The need for education.
- Age, origin and any other characteristics of the intended parents and surrogate mother that the court deems important.
- Ability of future parents and surrogate mother to meet the needs of the child.
In practice, the newborn usually stays with the intended parents, even if the “substitute” mother, by court order, is recognized as legal.
Legalization of a child born by a surrogate mother abroad
Some couples are considering surrogate travel abroad. They decide to turn to the USA (the most expensive option), Ukraine, Georgia.
In these countries, intended parents will be subject to local surrogacy laws. For example, in California, you can confirm legal paternity before the baby is born, which immediately eliminates the problem of the surrogate’s refusal to transfer rights.
In Ukraine, immediately after the birth of the baby, the competent authorities issue a birth certificate with the names of the intended parents. And a surrogate mother has no right to it.
However, if you go through the procedure abroad when returning to the UK, parents are still required to apply for a Parental Rights Ordinance in order to legalize their baby. Because the UK does not recognize the surrogacy laws of other jurisdictions.
Experienced specialists of the Feskov Human Reproduction Group will make the surrogacy process clear and understandable for patients from any country. And reproductive packages for any request with a fixed price will guarantee that your family will be replenished with your own son or daughter!
