The United States has made progress in legislating the alternative of pursuing surrogacy, where a pregnancy is carried by a woman different from the biological mother. However, the global outlook is less encouraging, as few countries allow it, and many lack regulations on the matter.

This situation has led people to seek jurisdictions with regulations to carry out the process legally.

Nevertheless, problems arise, including inconsistencies due to the diversity of legal considerations and definitions between different legislations, which have generated debates and disputes about the rights and obligations acquired by both the biological parents and the gestational carrier.

Issues with Surrogacy Between Countries Where It Is Allowed

One of the main problems with seeking surrogacy in other countries is that the regulations of each country are not necessarily consistent with each other. This leads to conflicts in crucial definitions, such as who is the legitimate holder of the baby’s legal custody.

In countries like Thailand or the United Kingdom, the surrogate is recognized as the legal mother. In India, however, parenthood is granted to the biological parents. As a result, a newborn through surrogacy in India with British biological parents becomes stateless and must apply for citizenship in one of those countries.

Latin American

In many Latin American countries, surrogacy is outright banned nationally in any form. However, in Mexico, only two local states prohibit it. The Family Code of San Luis Potosí declares “surrogate motherhood” non-existent, depriving it of any possible effect and exclusively attributing motherhood to the woman who gestated the child.

In the case of Puerto Rico and Uruguay, for example, surrogacy is not permitted.

In Uruguay, the law considers contracts between a couple or a woman who provides gametes or embryos, whether their own or those of third parties, to be null and void, whether for profit or not.

Likewise, the legislation adopted in Puerto Rico in 2020 incorporated the recognition of practical law for surrogacy, albeit only in its gestational form (the gestational carrier does not provide genetic material). In other cases, it is understood that there is a prohibition on surrogacy agreements.

Brazil

In Brazil, there is no formal law for surrogacy. A lack of legislation in this area led the Federal Council of Medicine, using its powers, to issue normative acts to guide doctors in the application of assisted reproduction techniques. In Colombia, surrogacy for heterosexual or same-sex couples is possible, as the National Constitution states: “both men and women have the same rights and opportunities before the law; therefore, there can be no discrimination.” This protects children’s rights to have a family and not be separated from it, as well as the rights of same-sex couples who wish to legally marry.

Colombia

In Colombia, same-sex couples have the same rights and obligations as heterosexual couples, including the right to procreate. Thus, surrogacy for heterosexual, same-sex, and single-parent couples is possible.

What Lies Ahead?

The outlook for surrogacy in Latin America remains uncertain. Work must be done to unify the legislation on the subject so that the entire Latin American continent can keep up with the demand for assisted reproduction.

At Celagem, we respect the laws and the constitution and, therefore, the rights they profess. Likewise, we respect the rights of all individuals.

We know how much you have dreamed of this moment, and now you are closer to achieving it. If you are considering starting a surrogacy treatment, you should know that Celagem is the first fertility clinic in Colombia that guarantees its patients the fulfillment of the dream of having happy babies at home. Additionally, our surrogacy program has a multidisciplinary and bilingual team that will handle all the procedures to make your dream of forming a family a reality.

For more information on surrogacy, visit Grandes Corazones, and to learn more about egg donation, visit Make a New Family.

At Celagem, we offer various surrogacy programs to start the process in countries with high annual demand, such as Colombia. Access our blog to learn more about surrogacy and assisted motherhood.