Distant relatives

As increasing numbers of people across the globe are turning to surrogacy agreements to fulfil their hope of having a family, governments and courts are finding they need to reassess the policies and legislation which govern the regulation of surrogacy agreements. While surrogacy has been propelled into the media through high-profile court decisions and celebrity endorsement, the existing legislation has been far outpaced by medical advances. It is becoming clear that our domestic law is not really suited to the escalating demand for surrogacy, particularly on an international scale.

Recently introduced legislation has, for the first time, provided same-sex couples and single people with the opportunity to start families of their own, resulting in a rapid expansion of the commercial surrogacy industry. Due to limitations of domestic law, international surrogacy agreements are proving to be the most convenient forum for many commissioning parents. This growth in international demand has seen the conflicting laws and practices of different countries create a legal minefield for commissioning parents in