The role of the surrogate's spouse in surrogacy law

1. Surrogate parents: a parental order and adoption order
2. How to become a surrogate partner
3. Parent order
4. Adoption Order

However, there is one more party whose opinion must be taken into account, including as required by law: this is the spouse of the surrogate mother. We will consider the requirements for such a “surrogate father” from the reproductive legislation, his “surrogate wife”, as well as possible difficulties during the reproductive program in this material.

Surrogate parents: a parental order and adoption order

Parent order

What is a parental order? In fact, this is an order for deprivation of parental rights, issued by the court at the request of one of the parties to the reproductive program (intended parents, surrogate parent).

In practice, obtaining a parental order looks like this: intended parents or surrogate parents, no later than 6 months after the birth of the child, submit an application to the judicial authorities to terminate the parental rights of the surrogate spouses and transfer them to the intended parents. In this case, the intended parents must live with the child, be married or in a partnership, and be located in the country where the reproductive program is being conducted. If there are no violations, the court grants the petition, and the intended parents acquire full parental rights in relation to the newborn. That's what a parental order is.

Adoption Order

In some cases, if issuing a parental order for some reason is impossible or is not enough to recognize your parental rights- the process of adopting your child begins. Essentially, this is a court hearing to confirm your parental rights. 

The adoption process depends on the marital status of the intended parents and whether donor gametes were used to create the embryo. The presence of the intended parents at the court hearing is required.

There are 3 main ways to establish a relationship with a newborn:

• adoption: in cases where one of the intended parents is indicated on the birth certificate as the mother or father. In this case, if there is an official marriage, the second parent formalizes the adoption of the newborn. This method is relevant for same-sex couples in an official marriage or heterosexual couples who used donor eggs or sperm;
• adoption by a second parent: this method is used mainly by couples who are not officially married, when one intended parent is already indicated on the child’s birth certificate;
• adoption by one parent: this method is relevant for single parents who have used the surrogacy service. Single men can usually list themselves on the birth certificate, but single women who are not pregnant may have to undergo additional procedures (DNA testing).

Some legal requirements, such as research into living conditions and assessments of adoptive parents, may be waived due to the established relationship with the child.

In any case, you will need to discuss your situation with a qualified reproductive law attorney.

How to become a surrogate partner

A very useful step would be to establish contact and exchange experiences with families who have already gone through similar experiences. This will give an understanding of possible crises and ways to resolve them.

Reproductive clinics in Ukraine, in particular, Feskov Human Reproduction Group, accept married women into the program only if they receive the notarized consent of their spouse. Ukrainian legislation does not grant parental rights to surrogate spouses, so the process of legalizing a newborn will not require any active participation from them. All that is required from them is informed consent and a willingness to provide each other with emotional support in the difficult, lengthy, but noble task of giving parental happiness to other people.

If your family is considering the possibility of a woman participating in a reproductive program as a surrogate mother, order a free consultation with Feskov Human Reproduction Group specialists on our website. We will help each family make the right decision based on its interests. Perhaps a potential surrogate mother would be much more suitable for the role of an egg donor. This step can help make even more people happy parents!