Thread by @WombsNotForRent

BREAKING NEWS - LEGAL FIRST - PARENTAL ORDER OVERTURNED

#surrogacy
#SurrogacyRegret
#Motherhood
#DisappearingWomenAsMothers
#AltruisticSurrogacy
#ParentalRights

1. 1.We attended court last November to support this Surrogate Mother (SM) in the case to ‘set aside’ the Parental Order. We understand this case to be a one of a kind which was won on the basis of consent which we will explore in an upcoming blog but first some background…

2. The SM’s relationship with newly-introduced Commissioning Parents (CPs) progressed quickly and the first donor egg conceived embryo was transferred within 6 months. There was no long history of friendship and this all took place without guidance of an agency. #surrogacy

3. When that transfer failed, a second attempt was made, this time via artificial insemination and the egg of the SM. She was pregnant by Nov 2019. This woman is the genetic mother and birth mother of her son.
#Mother #SurrogateMother #ParentalRights

4. A genetic link with at least one CP is currently recognised in law as important for surrogacy.The Law Commission proposes to change this by allowing ‘double donation’ for some UK surrogacy agreements meaning CPs will have no genetic link to babies they commission. #Surrogacy

5. By the Spring of the following year the relationship was breaking down. The little boy was born in Sept 2020 and within hours the baby was removed from his mother and in full-time custody and care of the CPs.
#Surrogacy #MaternalRights

6. The application for a parental order was made 2 months later,the SM declined to sign it, although she felt under pressure to do so she stood firm making it clear she had changed her mind, she wanted to remain in the child’s life & did not agree to transfer her parental rights.

7. Consent is central to this case. It is legally recognised that it must be given freely and unconditionally and only if you are fully informed of what you are agreeing to.

#Surrogacy #ParentalOrder #LawReform #MaternalRights #Motherhood

8. Where the relationship in a surrogacy agreement has broken down, consent is considered ‘unique’ and the written statement of the SM clearly shows she does not agree to relinquishing her parental rights.
#Mother

9. It is important to recognise that consent can also be withdrawn, whether that be for medical treatment, sexual intercourse or the transfer of parental rights.
#consent #InformedConsent #Coercion #Surrogacy

10. The ‘cooling off’ period currently permitted within the law will change drastically should the UK law be amended to mirror commercial surrogacy arrangements with a pre-birth order as the Law Commission propose.
#InformedConsent #MaternalRights #Surrogacy

11. Central to this case is the Contact Order which was initially met by the CPs but later disregarded despite a judge’s order. Contact between the mother and her son was denied.
#Motherhood #ChildsRights #Surrogacy

12. As the Contact order was originally the basis on which the PO was agreed to by the SM, her consent was *conditional*. In court, there was some recognition of the SM being under ‘considerable judicial encouragement’ at the time. #Coercion #Surrogacy #ParentalOrder

13. It was agreed by the Court of Appeal that the PO should never have been granted but it is unclear as to what happens next from all parties involved.
For more on this we suggest reading the full judgement:

caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2023/…

14. As tomorrow is the final date for the CPs to appeal the judgment we wanted to take this opportunity to share this woman’s experience with her permission. @bindelj

juliebindel.substack.com/p/disappearing…

15. We are proud to have been able to support this woman throughout this court case and if you have experienced #surrogacyregret we hope to hear from you. You are not alone. Stopsurrogacynowuk.org

Explanation of #consent from the court case.