# India surrogacy



## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

My friend said that there was a surrogacy story about India in the Evening Standard today (London) I also saw this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-195611/Couple-set-website-surf-surrogate.html

I hope that they find their dream. It puzzles me about the legal aspect and **** commenting on it as it does seem to contradict some of the advice given elsewhere.

L x


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## NatGamble (Mar 1, 2007)

Yes, the legal side can be a nightmare but the issues are only just starting to come to light.  I wonder how up to speed the HFEA are on this, since surrogacy doesn't come within their remit in the UK - other than in relation to the fertility treatment, and even that would be outside their remit if you conceive in India.  

See www.gambleandghevaert.com/page/intsurr/38/ for more info on the legal issues associated with going abroad for surrogacy.

Natalie
[email protected]


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## Alph (Oct 9, 2008)

Hi Nat,

I was wondering if you could give an outline of the costs of getting a Parental Order for a child born in India.  I know cases will vary, but I'd really like a rough idea of this if possible.  Do cases involving international commercial surrogacy really have to be decided in the High Court?  This sounds prohibitively expensive!  

Also I was wondering what the practical implications of not getting a Parental Order would be.  So many people seem to be turning to India, but there seems to be little discussion on boards about obtaining a PO.  

Many thanks for your advice.

Alph.


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## NatGamble (Mar 1, 2007)

I suspect that people are dealing with the immigration side of things and getting into the UK by hook or by crook, and then simply ignoring the need for a parental order.  This is a very risky thing to do and here's why:

If the surrogate is married (which I gather in India is almost a pre-requisite), neither British parent will be a legal parent for UK purposes since the surrrogate and her husband are the legal parents in the eyes of English law.  That means that the British parents are, in essence, caring for a baby they have no legal relationship with, which means that they have no authority to make parental decisions and that they may be committing a criminal offence in failing to notify social services (who should be overseeing their care).  While in the short term this underlying legal position may not come to light, in the longer term there are all sorts of opportunities for the can of worms being opened - health visitors, nurseries, school, GPs, the courts (e.g. on a divorce of the parents) etc etc.  And the worrying thing is that if you miss the six month deadline for applying for a parental order, you lose the opportunity of getting one forever.  It's not a position I would want to be in.

To answer your question about the potential costs of getting a High Court decision on a parental order, it's difficult to be categoric as so much depends on the particular case and what sorts of funding are available, but yes, it will be prohibitively expensive in most cases (and will certainly make the costs of the Indian surrogacy look insignificant).

This is something which is very very worrying.

Natalie
[email protected]


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## gill5 (Apr 27, 2009)

hi i read that article too.
made me think it might be an option.

had an offer of surrogacy in the uk, but after several atempts came to nothing
gill


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