Switzerland’s Federal Court, the highest in the nation, has refused to recognise surrogacy.
In a case centred on a same-sex couple, the court was asked to examine the circumstances under which the couple procured a child from a surrogate mother in the US state of California in 2011. Having entered into an agreement with the child’s biological mother, the male couple were registered as the child’s parents and then, upon returning to Switzerland, had that registration recognised by the canton of St Gallen, where the couple lived in a same-sex union as recognised by Swiss law.
The Federal Court case commenced as a result of the Swiss justice office lodging an objection to the canton’s action. The court has now agreed with the justice office’s argument that, under Swiss law, only one male with a genetic link to a child can be legally recognised as the father of that child, and described any other arrangement as “incompatible” with Swiss legislation. Further, the court stated strongly in relation to children, “A child must be protected from being downgraded to a commodity which can be ordered from a third party”, while on the issue of women and surrogacy it ruled, “According to Swiss civil law, a pregnant woman cannot actively abandon her rights regarding the child before it is born”.
Switzerland has faced a trend in babies procured by its citizens through surrogacy, notably from the state of Georgia, where, it is reported, surrogacy can be arranged for as little as €15,000.