Legal regulation of the use of surrogate motherhood technology in Ukraine during a full-scale war

Abstract

A systematic study of the problems of legal regulation of the use of surrogate motherhood technology in Ukraine during a full-scale war was carried out. It has been established that the procedure of full surrogate motherhood is allowed in Ukraine (the surrogate mother must not have a genetic connection with the child). At the same time, the lack of clear legal requirements for the procedure of surrogacy, the relatively low cost of its implementation caused a fairly high level of demand among foreigners for the use of this reproductive technology. Until February 24, 2022, the demand in Ukraine for surrogacy services was extremely high, including due to the ban on surrogacy for foreigners in India, our state was one of the centers of surrogacy at the world level. After February 24 last year, the situation changed significantly. The problems that arose due to the full-scale war and are related to ensuring the personal safety of surrogate mothers, their evacuation, and the preparation of documents for newborn children are analyzed.It has been studied which legal norms currently remain valid in regulating the procedure of surrogate motherhood. The simplification of the rules for crossing the state border and the procedure for granting permission to parents to leave with their children based on birth certificates are analyzed. The practical practices that changed after the war in a number of foreign embassies were analyzed.A comparative analysis of four draft laws submitted to the parliament at the end of 2021 and in January 2022, which should regulate the field of reproductive medicine, was carried out. The positive sides of individual provisions, as well as existing gaps, are highlighted.In addition, the need to adopt a special law that would regulate the use of various reproductive technologies in Ukraine, including surrogate motherhood procedures, is substantiated. It has been proven that the new law should clearly define the possibilities of using surrogate motherhood by foreigners and guarantee special legal protection for children born to surrogate mothers. It is also important to clearly regulate the procedure for the export of reproductive material abroad, as well as the responsibility of all parties for non-fulfillment of the contract, unless the impossibility of fulfillment due to force majeure is proven.