Yorkshire campaigners say 'outdated' surrogacy laws leave both parties vulnerable
Video report by Nick Smith
Yorkshire parents who have had a baby using a surrogate have joined calls for laws around the process to be reformed - amid claims that they currently leave both parties vulnerable.
The number of parents having a child through a surrogate has quadrupled in the last decade, but campaigners say the current laws are outdated.
The 1985 Surrogacy automatically means the surrogate is the legal mother of the child after the baby is born, and parents say there are few binding obligations for surrogates and prospective parents to ensure they fulfill their responsibilities.
Wes and Michael Johnson-Ellis, who had a daughter Talula and her younger brother Duke through the same surrogate, are now using their own experiences to try and help others through their organisation My Surrogacy Journey.
Wes said: "Some people actually still think that surrogacy is illegal in the UK. We need to break down those barriers. We need to try and help change the landscape and allow people to understand how accessible and what an amazing gift surrogacy can be for intended parents and surrogates.”
Michael said: “One of the things I think everyone wants - surrogates and intended parents - is recognising legal parentage from birth.
“That isn’t how surrogacy in the UK is currently, you have to go through the parental order process, so that change is by far the one that most people are really desperate for."
The transfer of the parental order from surrogate to the intended parents can take several months. One surrogacy support worker covering Yorkshire and the North East says that process should be automatic from birth to protect the child's interests.
Linder Pott from Surrogacy UK said: “We feel that it’s in the best interests of the child and that’s what’s most important in surrogacy, that the needs of the child are represented. As a surrogate, I want to be sure that child’s not going to have any delays to treatment, that there’s not going to be any obstacles in those parents being the parents to that child.”
Many surrogates like Hayley Joy-Aldis are also keen to see the whole process become more formalised - as it currently stands, campaigners say much of it is based on good will that both sides will honour their agreement.
Hayley said: "Surrogacy in the UK is all based on trust. There are so many strands to surrogacy. You need to work together for a long time before jumping into this agreement because the potential is that yes, you are going to be responsible for their child at the end of it, and that won't be necessarily what you want at all. You need to have a decent relationship.
"It needs to be well-considered, you all need to be informed and do your research to be well-prepared. And you need to know that you can believe in those intended parents."
The Law Commission is currently reviewing surrogacy rules and will announce its recommendations to the government next year.
For more information about surrogacy, the following links and organisations can provide support and useful advice: