6. Is access to surrogacy subject to specific criteria?
a. medical criteria (e.g. infertility of the intended parent(s)) No
b. other criteria (please specify) No. Surrogacy is not regulated by law. The Czech MAR Society has issued recommendations (exclusively medical indications, weighting with the applicants' own gametes, transfer of a single embryo, age of the surrogate mother under 49, surrogate mothers’ permanent residence in the Czech Republic, etc.), but the compliance is not enforceable.
9. Is it lawful to advertise surrogacy services? Yes. No specific prohibition, these procedures are offered, for example, on the sites of the MAR centers. However, the Czech Transplantation Act says: Advertising and advertising for the purpose of demand or offer of organs are prohibited
10. Is it lawful to remunerate a facilitator/surrogacy agency No. No agency officially exists yet. But at least one private centre seeks out prospective surrogate mothers and offers mediation to those interested in the procedure.
5. Is surrogacy prohibited in your country?
a. any form of surrogacy No
b. only specific forms of surrogacy (e.g. commercial) (please specify) Yes. According to Czech legislation, the human body and its parts must not be a source of financial gain.
18. Is there:
a. any public discussion about the topic Yes
b. planning of new regulation at national level Yes
19. Please specify any additional relevant aspects which were not mentioned.
Draft proposal on surrogacy from Iceland
Background
Main elements of the proposed Icelandic legislation on Altruistic Surrogacy
1. Is surrogacy regulated by a specific law in your country? No. The Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 (the AHR Bill) was introduced to, and passed Second Stage in, the Dáil (lower House of the Irish Parliament) in March 2022. The focus of this Bill is on the regulation, for the first time in this country, of a wide range of assisted human reproduction (AHR) practices undertaken within the jurisdiction. The Bill as initiated provided for domestic altruistic surrogacy but did not contain provisions to regulate surrogacy arrangements undertaken in other jurisdictions. In March 2024 the Bill passed Committee Stage (Third Stage) in the Dáil. The AHR Bill, as amended at Committee Stage, includes new provisions in respect of the regulation of international surrogacy agreements and the recognition of certain past surrogacy arrangements.
2. Is surrogacy regulated in another way? (please specify) No, but in February 2012, the Department of Justice and Equality issued a guidance document to parents seeking travel documents for children born outside the State as a result of surrogacy arrangements entitled: Citizenship, Parentage, Guardianship and Travel Document Issues in Relation to Children Born as a Result of Surrogacy Arrangements Entered Into Outside the State. A pre-condition of granting emergency travel documents is that the genetic father (intending father) makes an application for a declaration of parentage and guardianship for the child within 10 working days of the arrival of the child into the State.
3. Has surrogacy been the subject of jurisprudence/court cases in your country?
MR and Anor – v- An tArd Chlaraitheoir & Ors [2014]
This case concerned an arrangement whereby a woman agreed to act as a surrogate for her sister and brother-in-law (the commissioning couple). The commissioning couple provided the genetic material (egg and sperm), which ultimately resulted in the birth of twins. The commissioning couple sought to have the birth register altered so that the commissioning couple were both registered as the legal parents. The Registrar refused to do so, on the principle that under Irish law the woman who has given birth to a child is always regarded as the legal mother. That refusal was challenged in the High Court.
In his judgment of 5th March 2013, Judge Abbott found in favour of the commissioning couple. He held that the genetic mother, and not the birth mother, was the mother, and that the person with the genetic/blood link was entitled to be registered as the parent on the birth certificate.
In February 2014, the State appealed Judge Abbott’s decision on the grounds that: it could create uncertainty regarding the parentage and parental rights of children born as a result of egg donation; demean the role of birth mother; lead to an opinion that commercial surrogacy is not unlawful; and result in the Registrar requiring genetic proof of maternity for every birth.
In November 2014 the Supreme Court overturned the High Court decision on the basis that the case had raised important, complex and social issues which are best addressed by the Oireachtas rather than the judiciary.
High Court Ruling:
Supreme Court Ruling: http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/0/E238E39A6E756AB480257D890054DCB6
4. Is there a legal definition of the term “surrogacy”? (please specify) No.
A legal definition of the term in the AHR Bill, as initiated, is as follows:
“‘surrogacy’ means an agreement, between a woman and the intending parents (or, in the case of a single intending parent, that intending parent) under which the woman agrees to attempt to become pregnant, by the use of an egg other than her own, and, if successful, to transfer the parentage of any child born as a result of the pregnancy to the intending parents (or, in the case of a single intending parent, that intending parent)”.
However, this definition is subject to amendment and may not be the version in the finalised AHR legislation by the time it has passed through all stages in both Houses of the Oireachtas and has been enacted.
13. Who is recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy?
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father No
14. Do mechanisms exist to transfer parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s) (e.g. adoption procedures)? Yes. Adoption procedures
15. Is the existence of a genetic link required for establishing paternity/maternity? No
16. Are the other parties involved mentioned in the birth certificate or other official document connected to the birth?
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father No
17. Are foreign birth certificates in surrogacy cases registered in your country No
6. Is access to surrogacy subject to specific criteria?
a. medical criteria (e.g. infertility of the intended parent(s))
It is proposed that access to surrogacy will be made available on the basis of medical need.
b. other criteria (please specify)
The proposed legislation sets out additional criteria which must be met by the intending parents in order for the surrogacy to be approved by the Regulatory Authority, the establishment of which the draft legislation also provides for. Under the draft legislation, for example, each intending parent must be 21 years of age or over and at least one intending parent in each surrogacy must be habitually resident in Ireland.
11. If surrogacy is forbidden, is the conduct of the following persons criminalised by the law?
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. intended parent(s)
c. gamete donor
d. facilitator
12. Subject to the applicable law, are you aware of the following unlawful practices in your country?
a. remuneration of the surrogate No
b. remuneration of the gamete donor No
c. advertising for surrogacy services No
d. remuneration of facilitators No
e. any other unlawful practices (please specify) Yes
9. Is it lawful to advertise surrogacy services? N/A
10. Is it lawful to remunerate a facilitator/surrogacy agency No
13. Who is recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy? The intended parent(s) are recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy (Article 8, paragraph 7 of Law No. 32/2006). An amendment to the Law establishing the terms under which consent might be revoked by the surrogate mother up to 20 days after the child was born, thus making the surrogate the legal parent, but with no genetic ties, was rejected in 2019 by the Constitutional Court before the Bill was enacted.
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father No
14. Do mechanisms exist to transfer parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s) (e.g. adoption procedures)? No
15. Is the existence of a genetic link required for establishing paternity/maternity? Yes, at least one of the intended parents (Article 8, paragraph 3 of Law No. 32/2006).
16. Are the other parties involved mentioned in the birth certificate or other official document connected to the birth? Besides the intended parent who has consented to the use of the technique in question, other parties may be mentioned in the birth certificate (Article 20), namely the person to whom she is married or linked by registered partnership. The respective parenthood shall be established at the time of registration.
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father No
17. Are foreign birth certificates in surrogacy cases registered in your country Competent authorities are not aware of any requests at this juncture.