Surrogacy Bill Campaign 2024

24 May 2024

Campaign Summary: Opposition to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022

As members of Not All Gays, we strongly opposed the surrogacy provisions in the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 and took a range of actions to highlight our concerns and push for amendments. Our key efforts included:

1. Direct Advocacy with the Oireachtas

  • We sent a formal letter to every member of the Oireachtas outlining our opposition to surrogacy and raising concerns about its framing as a ‘gay rights’ issue. You can find the template letter here.

  • We participated in a parliamentary briefing, where we presented our concerns regarding the commodification of women’s bodies and the ethical issues surrounding surrogacy. Our speech from this briefing can be read here or watched on our YouTube channel.

2. Collaboration with Advocacy Groups

We worked closely with anti-surrogacy organisations, including:

Together, we put forward a series of proposed amendments to the Bill during its progression through the Seanad.

3. Proposed Amendments & Their Rejection

We proposed several amendments to address the most concerning aspects of the Bill. However, all of these were ultimately rejected. Below are some of the key changes we proposed:

a) Donor Anonymity & Children’s Rights

  • The Bill proposed a voluntary donor register, meaning donors can remove themselves if they wish.

  • We argued for a compulsory register to ensure that donor-conceived children have access to their biological origins in the future.

b) Residency Requirement for Surrogate Mothers

  • The Bill only requires surrogate mothers to be resident in Ireland for two years.

  • We called for an increase to at least five years to prevent the exploitation of newly arrived migrants or vulnerable women brought into the country specifically for surrogacy.

c) Risks to Surrogate Mothers

  • The use of a donor egg significantly increases health risks to the surrogate, including complications such as pre-eclampsia and preterm birth.

  • We proposed a mandatory signed declaration ensuring surrogates are fully informed of these risks before consenting.

  • Commissioning parents should also be required to acknowledge and consent to putting the surrogate at increased medical risk.

d) Responsibilities of Commissioning Parents

  • If a child is born premature or disabled, commissioning parents must take full responsibility for their care.

  • We argued that parents should be legally prevented from reneging on their obligations and abandoning the child, ensuring no burden is placed on the surrogate.

e) Protection of Surrogate Mothers' Autonomy

  • We insisted that termination decisions must remain entirely with the surrogate mother and that she cannot be coerced by commissioning parents.

  • We called for clear protections against forced embryo reduction (i.e., being pressured to abort one fetus in a multiple pregnancy).

f) Restrictions on Eligibility for Surrogacy

  • Single men should not be eligible for surrogacy arrangements.

  • The minimum age for commissioning parents should be raised to 25, in line with the surrogate mother’s minimum age requirement.

  • Cohabiting couples should not be eligible unless they are in a legally recognised partnership, ensuring stability for the child.

g) Financial Safeguards & Ethical Concerns

  • The Bill lacks clear financial safeguards to prevent surrogacy from becoming a profit-driven industry.

  • We demanded:

    • Strict limits on expenses, allowing only reimbursement for maternity-related costs (e.g., medical care, vitamins, maternity clothing).

    • Life insurance for surrogate mothers in case of death due to childbirth complications.

    • Long-term medical coverage for surrogate mothers suffering injuries related to pregnancy and birth.

h) Safeguarding of Surrogacy Records

  • The Bill ensures records of donors and surrogates but lacks provisions to track:

    • Deaths or serious injuries of surrogate mothers.

    • Cases where babies are abandoned post-birth (as seen in Ukraine, where over 50% of orphanage babies are from surrogacy).

  • We pushed for compulsory record-keeping and transparency on these issues.

i) Prohibition of Sex Selection

  • The Bill does not explicitly ban sex selection for non-medical reasons.

  • We called for alignment with the Oviedo Convention, which prohibits sex selection except in cases of serious hereditary diseases.

j) Translation & Informed Consent

  • The Bill states that documents for surrogates only need to be in English or Irish.

  • We argued that all agreements must be translated into the surrogate’s native language to ensure full comprehension and informed consent.

k) Surrogacy & Adoption Standards

  • Health, age, and criminal background checks for commissioning parents should be equivalent to adoption standards to protect the best interests of the child.

  • The Bill’s vague "significant risk of harm" clause allows too much discretion. We argued that no level of risk should be acceptable when approving surrogacy arrangements.

l) Restrictions on Posthumous Surrogacy

  • We opposed surrogacy arrangements where one parent is deceased at the time of conception.

  • Children should not be deliberately created in situations where they will be raised with only one legal parent from birth.

m) Embryo & Gamete Tracking

  • The Bill lacks clarity on what happens to surplus embryos.

  • We demanded a full tracking system to prevent unethical practices such as embryo trafficking or forced implantation in vulnerable women.

n) International Surrogacy & Residency Concerns

  • The Bill allows international surrogacy without strict controls, creating risks of surrogacy tourism.

  • We pushed for a "Green List" of approved countries, preventing arrangements in nations with poor human rights records.

4. Outcome & Ongoing Efforts

Despite our advocacy, all of these proposed amendments were rejected, and the Bill was passed in both Houses of the Oireachtas. However, our work does not end here.

We remain committed to ensuring that:

  • Gay rights are not weaponised to justify unethical surrogacy practices.

  • Policy safeguards are strengthened to protect women and children from exploitation.

  • Future legislative changes do not erode the ethical concerns surrounding surrogacy.

We continue to engage with policymakers and encourage members of the public to write to their TDs and Senators to voice concerns about the Bill. Template letters and further information are available on our website.

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