Press release from The Iona Institute
The surrogacy case that was before the Supreme Court shows how surrogacy itself creates an automatic ambiguity about who the mother of a child is. It is why countries such as France and Germany prohibit surrogacy altogether and Ireland should follow suit.
Commenting on the case, Iona Institute Director, David Quinn said: “Surrogacy splits motherhood in two. A child who is born of a surrogate mother will have two mothers, the birth mother and the genetic mother. Both women have a valid claim to be the mother of the child.”
He continued: “Surrogacy also makes pregnancy and the baby the object of a contract, whether the surrogacy contract is commercial or non-commercial, written or verbal. The surrogate agrees to carry a baby for nine months and at the end of that time hand the baby over to the commissioning adults. Pregnancy and babies should never be the object of a contract.”
He concluded: “It is for these and other reasons that countries like Germany and France prohibit surrogacy altogether and we should follow their example”.
ENDS