Belfast Surrogacy: Understanding the Laws in Northern Ireland

Surrogacy is the process where a woman, who is referred to as the surrogate, gets pregnant and carries a baby to term for an individual or a couple referred to as the intended parents. Surrogacy is a complex process that needs adequate and appropriate preparation, especially when considering Belfast surrogacy, intending parents might want to consider understanding the laws in Northern Ireland.

Generally, surrogacy can be challenging emotionally, financially and physically. However, it is a necessary and increasingly common route to achieving parenthood. It has been increasingly common for couples who are experiencing fertility issues or for same-sex couples who wish to have a genetic link to their child to enter into that type of agreement. There are two types of surrogacy that are widely recognized, they include:

Traditional surrogacy 

This is a form of surrogacy where the surrogate gets pregnant using her eggs via artificial insemination or through intrauterine injection of sperm. The sperm used in the process is obtained from either the intended father or a donor. The surrogate then carries the pregnancy, delivers and hands over the baby to the intended parents. In this type of surrogacy, the surrogate has a genetic or biological relationship to the baby because her egg was used in the pregnancy. This type of surrogacy, while being cheaper and less complicated, is not very popular due to the issues that may arise because of that genetic relationship.

Gestational surrogacy 

In this type of surrogacy, the embryo is created in vitro using the egg and sperm that are obtained from the intended parents or donors. The embryo, after being grown in the lab for some days and undergoing some tests is then transferred to the uterus of the surrogate, who then carries the baby to term and delivers. This type of surrogacy ensures that there is no genetic relationship between the surrogate and the baby, removing any legal hold or claim that the surrogate may make on the baby. This form of surrogacy is usually more expensive, more complicated and requires more resources to carry out.

Is surrogacy legal in Belfast?

While surrogacy is legal in Northern Ireland, any surrogacy arrangements between the surrogate and the intended parents cannot be enforceable by law. This usually means that there must be a high degree of trust between the parties that are in the agreement. There are also many regulations and rules which need to be carefully considered, one of which is that no third party like a solicitor should take any payment for negotiating a surrogacy contract. A surrogacy contract formally records how the intended parents and the surrogate want their agreements to work, showing clarity and a mutual understanding of their respective commitments. However, since surrogacy agreements are not enforceable in Northern Ireland, the intended parents will need to apply to the courts in order to become the legal parents of the child.

What is a parental order?

A parental order ensures that the intended parents of the baby are the legal parents, and it permanently removes the legal parenthood of the surrogate and their spouse, if any. Following the issuance of this order, the child’s birth will be reregistered, and the original birth certificate will be sealed and available to the child only upon reaching the age of 18. The court proceedings can take between 4-12 months and will usually involve one or two court hearings. The surrogate remains the legal parent of the child until a parental order is made. The surrogate is also required to consent to the parental order before it can be made.

While there is a worry by intended parents about what will happen in the case that the surrogate changes her mind about giving up the baby, the chances of that occurring are, however, very low. The surrogate herself can also be concerned that she may be left with the baby in the case that there is a change in circumstance or the intended parents change their mind. The order does not expire and is usually life-long. The order can only be made in the instance that one or both of the intended parents are related to the child. If none of the intended parents are related to the child, then they must file adoption papers instead.

Conditions to meet before the court accepts the application

When an application is brought to the court for a parental order, the court must be satisfied of the following conditions:

• The child was conceived by way of embryo transfer or through artificial insemination and was carried and delivered by the surrogate.
• One or both of the intended parents have a biological relationship with the child.
• The intended parents must be married, living as an established family unit or as civil partners.
• The application must be made to the court within six months of the child being born and before the application is made, the child must have lived with the intended parents.
• The intended parents have to be older than eighteen.
• They must be resident in the UK.

When the application has been made to the court, the intended parents are termed as the applicants, and the surrogate is named the respondent. The surrogate mother and her husband, if any, must also give consent to the making of the order. It is then usually common that in anticipation of this being done, all the parties will enter what is termed as the surrogacy agreement. This is to confirm that this is the parties’ intention once the child is born.

Are surrogate payments legal in Belfast?

It is not illegal to pay a surrogate for her services in Northern Ireland, contrary to popular belief. During the parental order application, the court will need to authorize any payments that have been made which are over and above the expenses that she must have incurred during the process of the surrogacy. Since there are no set definitions for reasonable expenses, it is now left to the court to interpret and state what reasonable expenses are on a case-by-case basis.