Closely linked to such ethical questions are a multitude of legal questions concerning surrogacy, because laws were written for other circumstances, not specifically for surrogacy. Are surrogacy contracts enforceable? Are they illegal? Is payment of a fee in violation of baby-selling statutes, i.e., is it payment for services rendered or for the child? Is the contract counter to public policy? What happens if the surrogate decides to keep the child? What would be appropriate damages for breaches of the contract? Would they be monetary, or would they require specific performance? How could disputes over visitation rights be resolved? Who is the legal mother? How can the husband of the infertile woman establish his paternity rights? Who should participate in decisions affecting the welfare of the fetus and the newborn?[1] These are certain questions which shall require analysis by legal jurists to answer these correctly. But there has been certain committees which have tried to answer these questions. These complex questions and issues have been studied in Great Britain (Warnock Committee)(10), in Canada (Ontario Law Reform Commission)(7), in France (Comité Consultatif National d’Éthique)(9), in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia (Waller Committee and New South Wales Law Reform Commission)(5 and 3), in other states of Australia (Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia), in Spain (Congress of Deputies’ Special Commission), in West Germany (Benda Commission), in the Netherlands (Dutch Health Council), as well as in the United States (American Fertility Society and Office of Technology Assessment)(2 and 13).
|