NZ Surrogacy Law Reform
The Law Commission has submitted its report on reforming New Zealand’s surrogacy laws to the responsible Minister, Kris Faafoi. The report (available here: https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/sites/default/files/projectAvailableFormats/NZLC-Report146-Review-of-Surrogacy.pdf) was today presented to Parliament. The report makes 63 recommendations to establish a new framework for determining legal parenthood in surrogacy arrangements and otherwise improve surrogacy law and practice.
I am proud to have been one of the experts advising the Law Commission on this report.
The Report makes 63 recommendations to establish a new framework for determining legal parenthood in surrogacy arrangements and otherwise improve surrogacy law and practice. Key recommendations include:
Introducing a simple administrative pathway for recognising intended parents as the legal parents of a surrogate-born child without the need for a court process, where the surrogacy arrangement was approved by the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ECART) and the surrogate gives her consent.
Providing a separate court pathway for recognising intended parents as the legal parents of a surrogate-born child in situations when the administrative pathway does not apply.
Giving effect to children’s rights to identity by establishing a national surrogacy birth register to preserve access to information by surrogate-born people about their genetic and gestational origins and whakapapa.
Clarifying the law to allow payments to surrogates for reasonable costs incurred in relation to a surrogacy arrangement, including compensation for loss of income.
Changes to the ECART approval process to improve its operation and to enable ECART to approve traditional surrogacy arrangements.
Commissioning Māori-led research to provide a better understanding of tikanga Māori and surrogacy and Māori perspectives on surrogacy.
Accommodating international surrogacy arrangements (where intended parents live in New Zealand and the surrogate lives overseas) within the court pathway of the new legal framework in order to promote the best interests of the child.
The Government will now consider the Report. The Government may accept or reject the Commission’s recommendations. If the Government accepts the recommendations, it will add the reform work to its Legislation Programme. If the Government rejects the recommendations, it is required to present a response to Parliament within 120 working days from the time that the Report is tabled in Parliament.
The Law Commission’s report is timely, coming on the back of MP Tāmati Coffey’s private member’s bill passing its first reading, which also seeks to improve surrogacy arrangements in NZ: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_115955/improving-arrangements-for-surrogacy-bill