Surrogacy law reform: A setback for modern families

This decision, communicated in a letter to the Law Commission after weeks of speculation, highlights the government's current priorities and the significant demands on parliamentary time and resources as reasons for not moving forward with the Law Commission’s proposals at this time. 

Context of the Reform

The Law Commission's surrogacy reform project had generated optimism by proposing new pathways to address the outdated and complex surrogacy laws. The proposed reforms aimed to simplify the legal process for intended parents and surrogates who are undertaking surrogacy here, ensuring that the intended parents would be recognised as their child’s legal parent from birth, subject to the surrogate's right to withdraw consent and other conditions being met. Additionally, the reforms included the establishment of a new surrogacy register and clearer guidelines on payments to surrogates.

In her letter, Baroness Merron acknowledged the importance of surrogacy law reform but emphasised that the Government's current priorities prevent it from advancing these legislative proposals. She said “the Government has several key priorities that it wishes to progress which will put a significant demand on parliamentary time and resources. This means that the Government is unable to prioritise surrogacy reform and do not intend to put forward these legislative proposals at the current time.”

The Need for Reform

The announcement has been met with disappointment. The current surrogacy laws in England and Wales are widely regarded as outdated. The legal process for surrogacy is often cumbersome and can lead to uncertainty and stress for intended parents and surrogates. Currently, surrogates and their spouses are the legal parents of a child born through surrogacy from birth, and intended parents must apply to the court for a Parental Order to transfer legal parentage. This process can take months, leaving intended parents in a legally ambiguous position and one which often does not reflect their reality of being responsible for their child day-to-day.

Looking Ahead

Baroness Merron’s letter did indicate a commitment to revisit the issue in the future, as she says “We will publish a government response as time allows and will look to consider this issue in future.” However, the news is a setback for intended parents and surrogates who will have to navigate an outdated system that does not meet the needs of modern family structures for the foreseeable future. 

However, we continue to look forward to legal reform in the future, and although this is certainly a setback, it’s not the end of the road.