Legal Narratives of the Effects of Surrogacy Agreements Under A Child’s Rights Lens

Abstract

The current legal landscape in the Philippines leaves surrogacy unregulated as there are neither laws nor jurisprudence on the validity of these agreements. As a consequence, it is unclear which rights and obligations arise from a surrogacy agreement. Using the Philippine legal system as a case, the study aimed at examining the validity of different surrogacy arrangements and provided contextual analysis on the status of children under surrogacy agreements and its legal effects, in light of the state obligation of the Philippines under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is supported by legal narratives pertaining to actual cases of surrogacy using the child’s rights lens. Analyzing said agreements would aid not only legislators in filling policy gaps, but also those that are interested in entering such contracts in protecting the child that they have longed to have. It also examined critical perspectives on the possibility of surrogacy arrangements as potential illegal cases of human tracking attached to circumvent Philippines laws. This study calls for a proper legal framework to recognize children, surrogate mothers and parents who enter such arrangements legitimizing their rights to be protected.