Surrogacy Resource thread : please post your links here

[FannyCann]

A Happy New Year to all.

I have been thinking about how I should concentrate my energies in the New Year - women are fighting many battles on so many fronts - against porn, prostitution, domestic abuse, the wonderful We Can’t Consent to this campaign, abortion rights, to maintain our spaces, our language, our sports and so much more that I haven’t mentioned.
For myself, I have been asked to join a particular campaign against surrogacy and I have decided that is where I will be devoting most of my time whilst still supporting all the other important causes in spirit at least.

The surrogacy market is a global business currently thought to be worth about $21billion with growth expected to reach about $41billion by 2026 according to India based market research firm Data Bridge. Women’s reproductive “services” are big business globally.

The Law Commission Consultation on new surrogacy law in the UK closed on 11 October 2019.
Many posters on FWR did great work researching, discussing and exploring the implications, educating and raising awareness, encouraging people to respond to the consultation so that responses weren’t simply confined to cheers of approval from “stakeholders” but real concerns and educated critique were raised.

Many of us may be wondering what happens next?

According to the Consultation paper what happens next is this: “After reviewing all responses, we will decide on our final recommendations for law reform, which we will publish in a report, accompanied by a draft bill (legislation) in 2021.”

The consultation, raising awareness and sharing the knowledge was very much the first battle. There is much to be done to follow up to prevent these harmful recommendations becoming law in the UK and to keep that global market out of the UK.

I am not able to give details but I wanted to let people know that there is work ongoing behind the scenes and small positive signs that the Law Commission are belatedly reaching out to some women’s groups who raised concerns.

Meanwhile I believe now is the time to prepare: we have a new parliament with many new MP’s who are no doubt completely unaware, now is the time to start lobbying MP’s and the government in advance if that draft legislation. I plan to hold my nose and meet with my MP, who is a staunch Catholic and who, for all his faults, I expect to take a dim view of the proposals. I will also be sending letters to key people in the government and department of health.

Since I first heard about the Consultation and proposed changes to the law just over a year ago, I have spent many hours reading, articles, legal cases, research papers, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, reading and contributing to threads here, where so many other contributors share their knowledge and post informative links.

So I thought it might be helpful to have a resource thread, that we can refer to from time to time when looking for articles, research papers and other sources of information, links to FOIs, trying to find that thread where we saw interesting posts and so on.

I will kick off with some links to the consultation and related threads.

Please join in and add anything of interest you come across.

*The Consultation
*
Short summary

https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-storage-11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2019/06/Surrogacy-summary.pdf

The Full Consultation Document

https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-storage-11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2019/06/Surrogacy-consultation-paper.pdf

Obviously it is too late to respond now as the Consultation is closed, but for reference here is the recommended response to the summary from Nordic Model Now, which many of us used as a template or a guide to help us formulate our own responses.

https://nordicmodelnow.files.wordpress.com/2019/09/surrogacy-consultation-responses-pdf-2.pdff_

Several women’s organisations responded to the consultation with public letters:

Nordic Model Now Open letter:

https://nordicmodelnow.org/2019/10/11/open-letter-to-the-uk-and-scottish-law-commissioners-about-the-surrogacy-consultation/

WPUK submission to Law Commission consultation on surrogacy reform – Woman's Place UK

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

EVAW (End Violence Against Women) response:

https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/FINAL-Letter-on-Surrogacy-.pdf

NIA response:

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

*Links to some of the related threads on FWR:
*
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womensrights/3606313-The-Rumplestiltskin-Laww__
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http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womenss_rights/3613356-All-male-Law-Commission-discussing-surrogacy

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womensrights/3651968-The-illegitimacy-of-the-Rumplestiltskin-Surrogacy-consultationn__

_
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womenss_rights/3706683-SURROGACY-CONSULTATION-ENDS-ON-FRIDAY-11-OCTOBER-PLEASE-SUBMIT-A-RESPONSE-Edited-by-MNHQ-at-OPs-request

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womensrights/3649812-building-families-through-surrogacy-a-new-law-consultationn__

_
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womenss_rights/3698520-Did-everyone-know-that-MN-now-has-a-surrogacy-board

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3169070-To-think-theres-a-valid-discussion-to-be-had-about-the-ethics-of-surrogacyy_

_
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womenss_rights/3708724-Famous-men-and-surrogacy

It's a fascinating podcast ClaraLane
I've learnt so much, it covers so many aspects.

I've just been reading some more of MaryLou Singleton's writings, and will post some links.

First a link to a new website set up by the group Stop Surrogacy Now to support their campaign to prevent the legalisation of commercial surrogacy in New York.
I'm sickened by the proposals.

Also furious that a concerted effort by feminists and others to stop a bill for legalisation of commercial surrogacy in New York just a year or so ago has resulted in the proponents regrouping and trying again so soon.

https://www.legalizesurrogacywhynot.com/?mccid=69f0a0ac25&mcc_eid=a68e2e69c9

Some background to the New York proposals - I've copied an email I received.

Attention: International Community
We need your help to stop the legalization of commercial surrogacy in New York State.

Current New York law prohibits commercial surrogacy but allows altruistic surrogacy.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is working overtime to change this, having recently launched the "Love Makes a Family" campaign which includes a proposal for dangerous commercial surrogacy legislation. As you can imagine, it is important to keep #BigFertility out of New York State.

A new website has been launched at www.legalizesurrogacywhynot.com/. It's primarily focused on New York, but it contains many resources that are valuable to all of us around the world.

Please help us create awareness and a groundswell of opposition to these regressive efforts. Help us by sharing this link and starting important conversations in your spheres of influence about the harms of surrogacy. Encourage many more to sign and share our petition at www.StopSurrogacyNow.com

Here is a link to a podcast with Jennifer Lahl, talking to Taina Bien-Aimé who helped beat off the last attempt to bring commercial surrogacy to New York.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/venus-rising/id1481872967?i=1000451783360

There are many parallels with the commercial interests pushing to bring surrogacy to New York and the proposals for new surrogacy laws here, we need to support the fight over there and learn from it to prevent similar proposals being enacted in the UK.

Remember, the so called altruistic model that is being proposed is smoke and mirrors, and very deceptive.

The introduction of advertising, and fee charging "non profit" agencies, surrogate mothers being paid substantial "expenses" whilst maintaining the fiction of altruism.

They don't want it there. We don't want it here.

I don't quite understand the background of this "Amicus Brief to Scotus" - was a court case brought?
What was the outcome?

Anyway it's very interesting, and wide ranging, including discussion of the reasons why military wives are targeted as ideal surrogate mothers, and details of the risks and harms.

marylousingleton.wordpress.com/2017/08/26/amicus-brief-to-scotus-opposing-the-exploitation-of-women-by-the-commercial-surrogacy-industry/

A bit more about the plans to introduce commercial surrogacy to New York.

thefederalist.com/2020/02/18/new-york-to-consider-allowing-men-to-commission-babies-from-rented-wombs/

@fannycan if you are on Facebook have a look for Two Dads Uk, they have launched some kind of legal challenge/threat of this week to some NHS trusts re how intended parents are treated within hospitals. I only saw it briefly but centres on them being discriminated against.

@jakeyboy1
Wow. Thanks for the heads up.
I don't really do Facebook but I'll take a look.

Parliament discussing Surrogacy law.

parliamentlive.tv/event/index/51553d86-7f94-4233-87c1-23594720d571?in=16%3A30%3A00&out=17%3A00%3A00&fbclid=IwAR21K4wmoRShbRvO9_Up2wkYCxk2x5ootdCY0qbxhr0BiWpiPV3knwGzRmY

Wes and Michael Johnson-Ellis at TwoDaddies.co.uk talking about the Judicial Review they intend to launch as they have legal representation.

www.facebook.com/twodads.u.k/?eid=ARBtguVvPTIsEeZnE9uGq1iGSwgXLmmX2lQo3BuO8uR5y1HwsDESybkjDRUhBaNukzGCs4oA7yXO8f8T&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=529440010&fref=tag

Back in Feb 2018 the government issued updated guidelines ensuring fair and equal treatment to Surrogates and Intended Parents. NHS trusts had to update their policy to reflect this new, best practice. We were actually involved in supporting some of the updates in the new guidelines back in 2018.
Back in September 2019 I wrote to every trust making a freedom of information request (FOI) asking them to send me their policy and the date it was reviewed, to check if it reflected new guidelines. The good news was everyone responded, Disappointingly though the number of trusts that updated their policy was less that 15%. This means NHS Trusts are not training their staff correctly in a Surrogacy Birth potentially and don’t understand the some of the sensitivities around the birthing plan and birth. Or quite simply may be discriminating against Intended Parents and Surrogates.
So no more Car Park exchanges, or allowing IP’s their own space to be with their child, allowing both parents access (along with the surrogate and her nominated person to support her) to theatre to witness the birth of their child or children. These are a few of the issues IP’s ‘have to put up with’. We worked with our trust @elht_nhs (East Lancs Hospitals) to make improvements and as such their policy is tremendous! So it’s possible.
Trusts now have to respond within 21 Days with a course of action to adopt the policy or face Judicial Review.
This challenge is costing us financially, and a JR can cost £150k, but it’s the right fight to have and the right thing to do.

Wow. Thanks @OhHolyJesus

Those MPs giving me the rage. I think the main speaker is Andrew Percy. What a load of bollocks he talked, factually wrong on certain points, eg claiming Tom Daly and Dustin LB chose to have their baby in the UK as they didn't like the system in the USA when the opposite was the case!

Our MPs seem keen to introduce USA style binding contracts, albeit "altruistic".

Also, I can't find any FOIs that appear to fit what the two dads claim to have submitted.

If anyone would like to review hospital policies regarding surrogacy someone has been submitting requests.
Here is one which seems quite robust in its clear protection for the surrogate mother.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/surrogatepregnanciessnumbersann2#incoming-1483927

The case of AB referred to by the MPs, whose surrogate mother has refused to sign the parental order, meaning she and her husband remain the legal parents of the twins she gave birth to.

"1	E was age 51 at the time the embryo transfer took place at a fertility clinic operating in this jurisdiction. The parties had all had the mandatory ‘implications’ counselling provided by the clinic before the transfer took place.
2	19.	Unfortunately the relationship between the applicants and respondents broke down. It is not necessary for the court to investigate or determine the reasons for that change, save that the catalyst appears to have been an appointment around the 12 week scan when the consultant obstetrician expressed very real concerns about the health of E if the pregnancy continued. Further specialist advice was sought and the pregnancy did continue. E considers the applicants did not show sufficient concern for her wellbeing during this period. The applicants acknowledge in their statement the situation could have been handled better by them. Regrettably the difficulties continued, there was limited contact between them although E periodically updated C and D about the progress of the pregnancy. 
3	20.	The children were born early; the applicants were not at the hospital at the time and on arrival encountered difficulties in them gaining access to the children, who were in the neonatal intensive care unit. They were able go in the following day, but were, understandably, distressed by the circumstances."

Why would anyone think it is a good idea to impregnate a 51year old woman with twins?
She became angry that the commissioning parents weren't sufficiently concerned about her health and has with held her consent to the parental order ever since by way of revenge.

https://www.familylaw.co.uk/newsandd_comment/re-ab-surrogacy-consent-2016-ewhc-2643-fam

Hansard record of parliamentary discussion linked by OhHolyJesus

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-01-21/debates/925AF06F-A059-4093-90B9-073C4ACC326C/SurrogacyGovernmentPolicy

I've been watching videos of Two Dads, it appears to me that they feel discriminated against for not being able to watch the child being born by C section as well as having issues with the parental order process (they speak positively about their CAFCASS officer but seem to be upset about the safeguarding process?)

As neither of them have ever had a C section I wonder whether they would be able to understand how it's a major operation and is performed with restrictions in place (as to how many people can be in the room for example) so to protect and focus on the patient/s, the mother (and child).

I'd argue that surrogacy needs to have the same safeguarding approaches as adoption, these are children after all.

allowing both parents access (along with the surrogate and her nominated person to support her) to theatre to witness the birth of their child or children.

Is that their words OhHolyJesus ?

I think the surrogate mother has to be in the theatre for the birth!

The level of entitlement gives me such a rage. It's normal practice to limit viewers in the theatre to just one person, that being the mother's next of kin/birth partner.
It's not an entertainment.
Especially if it's an emergency LSCS which might be a bit hairy in which case even the birth partner is likely to be shut out. How fucking dare they.

My understanding is the Two Dads were at the c-sections. Their issues lie with lack of inconsistency amongst trusts and the car park hand overs of babies etc - which considering the other thread right now on people smuggling babies etc I do think there should be something in hospital to formalise who is taking the baby at that point else where is the safeguarding?

However I don't think it should be one rule for one and one for another, my trust for example only allowed one birth partner, why should trusts be forced into having say three? Surely that is reverse discrimination!

Another excellent podcast, a surrogate mother's story. Shocking lack of safeguarding by the medical professionals involved.

Listen to Pain For The Childless Mother: Briana's Story of Surrogacy Part 2 of 3 from Free Birth Society in Podcasts. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/free-birth-society/id1231912533?i=1000466293377

Interesting article here on US/Chinese surrogacy:

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/27/chinese-gay-couple-fathers-surrogate

www.rawstory.com/2020/02/scottish-lawmaker-reasonable-grounds-to-suspect-trump-or-his-associates-have-been-involved-in-serious-crime/

@jakeyboy1
I agree, trusts really don't seem to want to get involved in the handover of the baby, resulting in car park handovers which seems most unsatisfactory.
I think they probably ought to get someone from the legal team over and check ID and sign papers and ensure all the appropriate paperwork is in place so that the commissioning parents who are taking the baby home are able to access and manage healthcare for the baby are in place.

Brighton Trust seems a bit conflicted - staff have to ensure the paperwork is in place but absolutely under no circumstances get involved!

As regards LSCS my view is that this is a serious surgical procedure, especially if being done as an emergency, and the only person who should be present should be the person supporting the surrogate mother: next of kin or birth partner. Staff have enough to do without tripping over onlookers and answering their questions and attending to social niceties.

If anyone is interested in looking at hospital policies there have been quite a few appearing on the whatdotheyknow.com FOI website.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/surrogatepregnanciess_2?nocache=incoming-1532894#incoming-1532894

Updating with a few podcast links.
This one is the final of three episodes aired by the Free Birth Society.
I have really enjoyed listening to all three, great, wide ranging discussions, I've learnt a lot from them.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/free-birth-society/id1231912533?i=1000466985474

Meanwhile the latest episode from Jennifer Lahl / Venus Rising comes with a health warning if you have blood pressure problems. It is seriously rage inducing. I don't want to give out spoilers, but the baby buyer exemplifies ignorance, idiocy and entitlement beyond normal imagination!
The surrogacy is ongoing, Jennifer posted an update on twitter.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/venus-rising/id1481872967?i=1000467220094

And rounding off with a couple of articles. Women in the USA and Canada are literally farmed like cattle and give up all agency to their bodies, even before the contracts are signed.

undark.org/2020/02/24/egg-donor-harrassment-threats-legal-bills/

www.cbc.ca/news/health/pressure-to-have-multiple-babies-putting-surrogates-at-risk-1.5459957

Just came across this thread... shamelessly place marking. For when I have some more time.

www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/evaw-expresses-serious-concerns-over-surrogacy-consultation/

maternityaction.org.uk/2020/02/surrogacy-wish-fulfilment-or-exploitation/