It’s one of most heart wrenching things of our times – the couple who would really like to have a baby, simply cannot conceive. Before you are in this situation you will never fully understand the sheer desperation childless couples experience. While some couples will take this news in their stride and decide to live without children, others will spend thousands of rand in an effort to fall pregnant. However, if you are clinically infertile, nothing will help you to fall pregnant alternatively some patients may not fall pregnant for medical reasons. The last resort for these couples is surrogate motherhood. However, the legal arrangements for surrogate motherhood must be approached with extreme diligence and care so as to protect the interests of both the commissioning parents and the biological mother.

The legal arrangements for surrogate motherhood can include a number of aspects, from whether the surrogate mother’s egg will be used or that of a donor. One thing that must be remembered is that childless couples must guard against opportunistic individuals who may extort them at a later stage for money before they hand over the baby. A contract detailing the legal arrangements for surrogate motherhood will therefore go a long way to ensure both parties benefit.

In terms of legislation couples may not ‘pay’ a surrogate to carry a child for them. Couples are however required to pay all medical expenses for the surrogate as well as any loss of income due to being unable to work etc.

For more information on this subject, please give us a call at 012 460 3668 (SA)
or e-mail us at linda@avdw.co.za