SURROGACY CONSULTATION ENDS ON FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER - PLEASE SUBMIT A RESPONSE [Edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

[howonearthdidwegethere]

The Law Commission's consultation on surrogacy ends on 11 October. Please consider submitting a response. Needn't be long:

www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/surrogacy/

If you're not sure how to respond (the main document is 502 pages long!), there are already two great submissions you can draw on:

This one from nia, the VAWG charity run by Karen Ingala Smith:

www.niaendingviolence.org.uk/perch/resources/surrogacy-consultation-response-october-2019.pdf

This one from Nordic Model Now:

nordicmodelnow.org/2019/08/15/the-law-commissions-surrogacy-consultation-how-to-bamboozle-through-a-dangerous-new-law/

A long and very informative academic paper on international surrogacy. It sickens me that the UK lawyers want to smooth the path for commissioning parents who choose to do this.
Another problem is that in countries that ban surrogacy such as France and Switzerland when parents return with a baby and present a "done deal", rather than prosecute them, the law courts tend to decide that the best interests of the child are served by legalising the parental relationship.
There really need to be painful consequences for people who do this. IMO they should be prosecuted for human trafficking and even if the norm is a suspended sentence, they still get a criminal conviction for people trafficking on their record. Maybe setting a precedent like that would change behaviour. There has to be a real disincentive to stop this.

www.dovepress.com/current-perspectives-on-the-ethics-of-selling-international-surrogacy--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-MB

Thank you for making me aware of this dreadful proposed law. I have started the consultation. It is taking a little while despite the useful advice above, because I am keen to personalise my answers, but for anyone who wishes to object but has very little time, please see above for much quicker ways to submit objections.

I will ensure my responses are submitted before the deadline.

Well done @littlecabbage
It does take a long time doing the whole thing, or even mixing in one's own answers with some copied in from NMN. But it's so important.

I hadn't seen this before. Death of a surrogate in the UK.

www.bionews.org.uk/page_89547

That is really awful.

One of the many things that gets to me about surrogacy, is that a surrogate will either be a first time mother, and therefore has no concept of what she has agreed to give away. Or she will already have children, and is risking leaving them as orphans by undertaking another pregnancy. Yes, women risk this to add to their own family, but I think the risk is far less justified to have a surrogate baby.

That's a good point littlecabbage
Sorry I didn't think to put something along those lines in my response.

Another excellent article by Jennifer Lahl spelling out the increased risks of a surrogate pregnancy.
It cannot be right to expose women to these risks.

www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/05/52239/

Done, with lots of detail on the health risks and medical ethics involved
Sunday night well spent.

Ooh brilliant Didactylos

I still have to hold my husband's hand while he does his in the next day or two. Reckon my family can account for another one.

Bump

(Have asked MN to amend title to flag imminent deadline)

place marking. i'll do this tomorrow

Also please sign this letter demanding the consultation be abandoned. It's a great letter and all you have to do is sign it!

We've created an open letter to the Law Commissioners with an online sign-up form. People can sign regardless whether they have/are planning to respond to the consultation. This is very urgent. We will keep the form open until Friday morningg_ - which is the deadline.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdp16TCOzpaHnPuMdxs2pvkaM6g7NPuP3mguJrvBY5ds57VuQ/viewform

thank you, i have signed the letter

bumping this thread because this consultation closes on Friday this week (11 Oct)
Like with the GRA public consultation as it gets towards closing time, when we need to be sending off our responses, shills are popping up on FWR threads to tell to shut up and our views are not relevant- that means people are getting rattled by women having a view - that angry response is always a red flag.

On any issue of human rights, but when it’s a fundamental issue for women, that only affects women, (here especially because only women can give birth), Why would anyone pop up here to specifically try to shut up women?

So I really hope everyone who can do so (male or female) will respond to the consultation.

I responded to the consultation a couple of weeks ago and had a stock email response yesterday.

I have now signed the letter upthread too.

Thank you MN for raising my awareness of this issue.

Women's bodies and babies are not commodities.

I have signed the letter and am about to tackle the consultation form. It’s massive and I’m not looking forward to it.

Can anyone clarify, is the main purpose of the proposed changes to allow surrogacy to be a commercial arrangement?

Proposed changes as I seem them and in haste Sabrina's Cat

To remove the mothers parental rights at birth so at first breath the baby is under legal parentage of the intended parents
To reduce the time limit after birth where the mother can object to the above
To make that objection a legal challenge in writing
To change the level of judge who reviews cases (I admit I didn't fully understand that bit but there were several questions about it)
To give a minimum age limit for a surrogate - to 18
No limit to the number of pregnancies a surrogate can have before being a surrogate

The consultation references laws or guidance that they do not link to so you have to dig around - the Nordic model answers are well written so for speed I would just personalise those.

Share the letter far and wide - the consultation is not fit for purpose!

Thanks for this OhHolyJesus

What a horribly complicated consultation. I have no idea how to answer these questions. I wanted to give a personal response but will do as you suggest and adapt the Nordic model template.

Who has the time and capacity to actually fill all this out themselves?

Agree, consultation not fit for purpose

No one has the time Sabrina and they make them deliberately complicated to put you off, I feel certain!

You don't have to answer every question or even personalise it, you could simply send the Nordic model answer as it is in an email to be super quick.

If it helps I felt particularly interested in an area of surrogacy so I think if you feel strongly about one area, just focus on that but no need to personalise it at all.

Re posting some advice I posted earlier in the thread if this is helpful

SabrinasCat

You can use Nordic Model Now ten minute download to respond.

https://nordicmodelnow.org/2019/08/30/how-to-respond-to-the-uk-surrogacy-consultation-in-10-easy-minutes/

Or just scroll through and answer a few questions.

42 Proposals to lift the ban on advertising.Young women will be targeted for their eggs or to be surrogate mothers.

65 Minimum age of 18 for a surrogate (and also 64 minimum age 18 for commissioning parent of surrogate baby. Who would be funding this I ask?) Do you have a teenage daughter? Ask her what she thinks about becoming a surrogate mother at 18. My daughter thinks young women that age should be planning careers and going to university. And also that they are still young enough to deserve protection from adults who may seek to exploit or coerce them.

71 No maximum number of surrogate pregnancies a woman can undertake. Even dogs have more protection in law in the UK. Licensed dog breeders limited to six litters from a bitch and the Kennel club won't register puppies after four litters.

79 Compensation for pain and inconvenience of childbirth and complications. The NMN answers to this were contributed to by a GP with an interest in obstetrics and gynaecology.

80 How should a surrogate mother's family be compensated should she die as a result of the pregnancy. What price a woman's life?

94,95 are concerned with easing the way to bring a baby home from abroad for surrogacy tourists.
At a time when countries like India, Thailand and Cambodia have had to ban surrogacy to protect the populace from abuses and exploitation by rich westerners seeking uteruses for hire it is shameful that this country should be seeking to make it easier.
Imo anyone returning from abroad with a baby should be prosecuted for people trafficking.

107 Finally gets round to considering if there are any issues for the health service. GP added to this answer as well on NMN version.

118 is basically any other business.
Eg No mention of egg donation

I haven't mentioned earlier questions which are key proposals, which seek to change the way Commissioning parents acquire legal parenthood. Check out the Nordic Model Now answers to get more understanding of these proposals.

Jesus Christ

I've just got to the bit about payments - they invite views on payments being reduced if the mother miscarries...

Oh but wait, if it is the first trimester, the second trimester or some later stage

Is this is what is has come to - pregnancy per hour? Per day? Per month? Per trimester?

We really are just walking incubators.

Thanks OhHolyJesus andFannyCann

I downloaded the Nordic Model word document and personalised a few answers that I felt strongly about. Mostly around the age of the surrogate. Sweet lord, are they really suggesting an 18 year old teenager has the mental capacity and life experience to rent their body and sell their baby?

Anyway, it didn’t take as long as I thought.

It’s worth doing.

Excellent Sabrina.

Once you turn 18 you can get a tattoo, have a legal alcoholic drink, sell a baby...

All very normal things for impressionable teenagers...and all before the brain matures at 25.

Woman's Place UK have just published their submission:

womansplaceuk.org/2019/10/08/wpuk-submission-to-law-commission-consultation-on-surrogacy-reform/

Thanks How I've shared it here too

Famous men and surrogacy www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3708724-Famous-men-and-surrogacy