commissioning parent

There is no requirement for the child to be genetically related to at least one of the commissioning parents.

If there is only one commissioning parent, s/he must be genetically related to the child.

The commissioning parent or parents must be physically unable to birth a child independently.

But suppose a woman has agreed to become a surrogate mother and accepted a fee from the commissioning parents.

Within 3 days after the birth the commissioning parents obtain a Russian birth certificate with both their names on it.

Careful screening, and matching of surrogate mothers and commissioning parents, are important steps in that direction.

The birth certificate of the surrogate child should contain the name(s) of the commissioning parent(s) only.

Legislation itself should recognize a surrogate child to be the legitimate child of the commissioning parent(s) without there being any need for adoption or even declaration of guardian.

According to the draft bill, the surrogate mother will be presumed to be the mother of the child unless or until a substitute parentage order is made in favour of the commissioning parents.

The South Africa Children's Act of 2005 (which came fully into force in 2010) enabled the "commissioning parents" and the surrogate to have their surrogacy agreement validated by the High Court even before fertilization.

Any woman living above the poverty line may choose or refuse to become a surrogate mother, and value judgments of either exploitation by the commissioning parents or of greed on the part of the surrogate mother are misplaced.

In cases of surrogacy involving embryo donation, a form of 'gestational surrogacy', the 'commissioning mother' or the 'commissioning parents' will not be biologically related to the child and may need to go through an adoption procedure.

In view of the importance of birth in determining the status of the child, a good solution might be if the question were decided in favour of the surrogate mother, and the child were adopted by the commissioning parents.

This allows the commissioning parents to be recognized as legal parents from the outset of the process and helps prevent uncertainty - although if the surrogate mother is the genetic mother she has until 60 days after the birth of the child to change her mind.

The surrogate mother has the right to unilaterally terminate the pregnancy, but she must consult with and inform the commissioning parents, and if she is terminating for a non-medical reason, may be obliged to refund any medical reimbursements she had received.