The Spanish government has taken a firm step in its stance on surrogacy, publishing in the Official State Gazette (BOE) a new provision that prohibits the registration in the Civil Registry of babies born through surrogacy, even when the procedure has been legally carried out abroad.
What is surrogacy?
Surrogacy consists of a woman carrying a baby for another person or couple. The aim is that those who have requested this type of treatment become the parents of the child, whether it is a heterosexual couple, homosexual couple or a single parent.
Although in Spain this practice is prohibited and there is no specific legal regulation allowing it, there are other countries where it is legal, such as the USA, Canada, Ukraine and Georgia. For this reason, these people used to turn to international clinics to undergo surrogacy.
What has changed now?
Up until now, families were able to register in Spain babies born through surrogacy abroad, by means of court rulings, proving the biological filiation of the father or through international agreements.
With the publication of this new measure in the BOE, the regulation expressly prohibits the registration of these births in the Spanish Civil Registry, which could leave many minors in a situation of legal uncertainty, without official recognition as children of their intended parents.
The main consequence affects these children's access to public health, education, nationality, inheritance and other fundamental rights. For their families, it also implies an emotional, legal and bureaucratic burden.
Why is this measure being taken?
According to the government, the decision aims to protect the fundamental rights of surrogate mothers and to prevent what some have described as a form of reproductive exploitation. They argue that surrogacy, even in its 'altruistic' forms, raises ethical dilemmas about the use of the female body and the bond with the baby.
On the other hand, surrogacy family groups denounce that this measure leaves the minors unprotected and generates legal discrimination against their families.
An open debate
Surrogacy is an issue that generates conflicting positions. Issues of reproductive rights, personal freedom, child protection and medical ethics intersect. The decision published today revives the social and political debate on whether Spain should do any of the following:
- Clearly regulate this practice, as other European countries have done.
- Ban it completely, including the legal effects of the processes carried out outside the borders.
- Seek intermediate formulas that guarantee the best interests of minors without violating other fundamental rights.
If you have any questions about the legal options for assisted reproduction currently allowed in Spain, do not hesitate in getting in touch with us and let us answer them for you.