# Sunday Times today 23 Sept has an article re surrogacy and mat leave



## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

Not sure if any of you have seen this. It is about a IM asking for a Judicial Review for maternity rights for parents through surrogacy.

i can't find the link for today's Sunday Times but it is this story that was in the Independent recently that is featured again. I believe SUK is also campaigning as does Natalie Gamble (FF lawyer)

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/04/23/broken-baby-making-machines-restricting-surrogacy-through-unequal-maternity-rights/

Good Luck


----------



## NatGamble (Mar 1, 2007)

Hi everyone - here's our press release on this if you are interested. If anyone here has suffered direct discrimination under the maternity leave rules over the past 12 months, I would recommend you contact the Surrogacy UK Executive Committee, and Merry Varney at Leigh Day and Co - they may be able to help.

*Natalie Gamble Associates press release, 23 September 2012*

A joint claim has been lodged at the High Court challenging the lack of maternity leave rights for families through surrogacy. Surrogacy UK and a mother directly affected are together seeking a declaration from the High Court that the current law is unfair. The issue is that UK parents who have a child with the help of a surrogate mother do not have rights to time off work to care for their new child, while parents who give birth or who adopt do. As a result, the mother bringing the claim (known only as RKA) was denied maternity leave rights by her employer to care for her newborn child, and was then made redundant while on unpaid leave.

Surrogacy UK, which has brought the claim together with her in its capacity as a leading representative of many UK families, says: "_We've made this claim as the leading surrogacy organisation in the UK, reflecting our responsibility to promote and protect the interests of our members and all others involved in surrogacy. Put simply, there can be no reason to treat parents of children born via surrogacy any differently from any other parent looking after a new-born. The Government has a responsibility to ensure that all parents have rights to a family life and the best possible start for their child_."

Merry Varney from law firm Leigh Day & Co, who is representing RKA and Surrogacy UK, says: "_The Government has a positive obligation under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act to protect surrogate parents to ensure respect for their private and family life and a positive obligation under Article 14 to avoid discrimination_."

The anomaly which denies maternity leave was raised in Parliament earlier this year, when John Healey MP called for equal maternity leave rights for mothers through surrogacy. His constituent Jane Kassim had also been denied maternity leave after her cousin Amy carried her and husband's twins (read more about what he said here). With the Department of Business Innovation and Skills currently reviewing the law on maternity rights, there is an opportunity to address the problem.

While surrogacy was historically a rare phenomenon which only affected a tiny handful of families, that is no longer the case. The numbers of parental orders (the orders which make parents through surrogacy the legal parents) stood at 138 last year, up from 58 just two years ago.

We at Natalie Gamble Associates have been campaigning to end discrimination against surrogate families for many years. As well as the employment law issues, other problems arise from the fact that it takes so long (often up to a year after the birth) for the parents to win legal recognition. There can be problems with medical consent, not to mention severe difficulties over immigration where children are born through surrogacy abroad. There is also no proper regulation of surrogacy services in the UK, while surrogacy thrives as an industry in many places abroad, driving more and more parents to go abroad. Surrogacy law in the UK desperately needs updating and we hope dealing with the employment discrimination will be just the first step.

For more information see:
Surrogacy UK press release
Leigh Day and Co press release
Sunday Times article (subscription required)
John Healey MP speaking in Parliament in April
More from our blog about our long campaign to end discrimination in maternity leave rights
More from our website about surrogacy law and why it needs reviewing


----------



## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

thanks so much Natalie

I work for a children's NHS Trust and tried through the Equality and Diversity Committee to try and get them to acknowledge surrogacy in the revised childcare policy that was being ratified - it covered mat and adoption leave etc but I was told as the law didn't provide for it they also didn't have to. I thought it ironic that not all children's physical, emotional and social wellbeing was being placed at the heart of everything. For me it is more about children born through surrogacy being discriminated against and not deemed equal and as deserving of their parent(s) attention as those with birth mothers and adoptive parents.
xx


----------



## sazzasarah (Jun 29, 2010)

so glad this is all being taken up. Good luck and well done to all involved. x


----------



## tisonlyme (Aug 6, 2010)

So pleased this is coming about - my employer is currently writing a policy as they have never had this situation before.  I await with interest what thhe policy is - but think that this may come to late for me  Baby due in feb.


----------



## sazzasarah (Jun 29, 2010)

hopefully your employer can get their finger out! I bet you're the only person the policy will relate to for the foreseeable future. I'd go and see HR and say you know the policy is being developed, which shows they know they have a duty to consider this, so you're assuming it'll be done in time for Feb... how long does it take to write one?   Good luck x


----------

