Legal regulation of surrogacy in Ukraine and the United States of America

Abstract

In this article, the authors investigated the regulatory acts and laws governing surrogacy in Ukraine. The concept of “surrogacy” was also considered and the absence of fixing of this term at the legislative level was established. In addition, it was determined that the necessary condition for the implementation of the method of surrogacy is the genetic link of the spouse or one of the couples with an unborn child. It follows that the surrogate mother should not be genetically related to the child. However, the legislator doesn’t prohibit bearing the pregnancy of close relatives of future parents (sister, mother, aunt, cousin, etc.). This work also focuses on the definition of the legal nature of the contract concluded between the surrogate mother and the infertile couple for artificial insemination by the method of surrogacy. As a result, this agreement is similar to the civil service agreement. The publication also analyzes the state registration procedure for a newborn baby that was born using the method of surrogacy. The peculiarity of the procedure for registering a newborn baby conceived in this way is the presence of a certificate and statement. The certificate proves the genetic link of the baby with the couple. The statement is given by the surrogate mother to recognize the spouse as the child’s parents. Much attention is paid to the experience of regulating surrogacy in the United States. The country does not have a single codified law on artificial insemination by surrogacy. Each state decides in what manner, in what order, and under what conditions it is possible to resort to this type of assisted reproductive technology. The conclusions provide suggestions for resolving problems that may arise while using the method of surrogacy. Also the possibility of improving current legislation on the legal regulation of this procedure by borrowing from foreign experience. Keywords: surrogacy, legal regulation, surrogate mother, assisted reproductive technologies, married couple, contract.