A comparative study of surrogacy rights in Iran and European countries, a review article

Summary

Background

Surrogacy is a type of medically assisted reproduction (MAP) and is a solution to help infertile couples that requires legislation and detailed legal discussions. To comparatively investigate the surrogacy rights in Iran and European countries in a review article.

Methodology

This review article was conducted from April to August 2021 to comparatively investigate the rights of surrogacy in Iran and European countries. Studies published by researchers between 1970-2021 were searched for in PubMed, Science Direct, Google scholar, Magiran, SID, Iranmedex and other jurisprudential texts using the key words of “surrogacy, Iran, European countries, and infertility”.

Results

This article analyzed the legal perspective and types of legislation in thirteen European countries, twelve in the European Union (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Portugal) and three out of it (Britain, Ukraine and Russia). Among Islamic countries, pregnancy and commercial surrogacy are carried out in Iran with the permission of Shia authorities, while no legal mechanism is passed in the civil law.

Conclusion

It is possible to support surrogate mothers when there are comprehensive laws approved by the legislators and jurists. Also, the conditions and effects of these agreements are clearly defined to guarantee women's dignity and destiny and children's rights and health after birth.

Assisted Reproduction

Surrogacy

Surrogacy is a form of third-party reproduction in which a woman consents to carry a pregnancy for intended parent(s) who cannot conceive for medical reasons or those who are a gay couple. There are two forms of surrogacy: traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. Traditional surrogacy uses the surrogate mother’s egg for conception. In contrast, gestational surrogacy is performed by transferring embryos made through IVF with eggs from the intended mother or a donor. Thus, the advent of IVF has assisted gestational surrogacy. However, pregnancy and gestation involve psychological burden and health risks for the surrogate mother. Moreover, the legal procedures for parenthood following surrogacy are complicated due to the typical legal assumption that a woman giving birth to a child is the legitimate motThereforeher of the child. , a surrogate mother is required to formally abandon parental authority, and the intended parent(s) then adopt the child born.

However, some clashes have occurred after childbirth in cases where a surrogate mother refuses to deliver the child to intended parents or where the intended parents refuse to accept the child (ABC, 2017). Surrogacy is likely to become more problematic, particularly in case involving payment to a surrogate mother. Commercial surrogacy has raised concerns, such as the exploitation and commodification of woman’s bodies for client‘s family building. While, surrogacy can be altruistically performed in some countries, with the surrogate mother receiving no compensation other than reimbursement of medical and other expenses (Jackson et al., 2017). Altruistic surrogacy is sometimes considered among the relatives of an intended mother; as such, foreigners can experience difficulties in finding suitable surrogates.

In vitro fertilization

Surrogacy

This is defined as “Another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for the couple who want to have a child”. Some of the indications for surrogacy include recurrent miscarriages, uterine malformations and repeated IVF implantation failures. The HFEA does not regulate surrogacy. In the UK, the surrogate will be the legal mother of the child unless or until parenthood is transferred to the intended mother through a parental order. It is advised that the couple should seek legal advice before proceeding with this option. Surrogacy UK is a non-profit organization offering support and information to anyone with an interest in surrogacy within the UK.

Practice points

• It is estimated that infertility affects 1 in 7 heterosexual couples in the UK. In the UK 224,196 babies were born after IVF treatment between 1991 and 2011

• Couples attending for their initial consultation before embarking on IVF treatment should be given lifestyle advice, offered general screening and specific infertility investigation work up

• The treatment cycle comprises of seven main steps including pituitary down regulation, ovarian stimulation, monitoring of response to ovarian stimulation, ovulation trigger, oocyte collection, luteal support and embryo transfer

• The complications of ART include OHSS and multiple pregnancy

• The HFEA is the UK's independent regulator of treatment using eggs and sperm, and of treatment and research involving human embryos

• The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility. Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy.