More than 100 single men over the age of 40 applied to be recognised as fathers to babies born through surrogacy, The Times has revealed.
Data from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service also showed a large increase in same-sex couples applying to be the legal parents of surrogate babies – almost three times more than a decade ago.
In 2019, single adults were given the same rights as couples to use a surrogate mother to have a baby. While commercial surrogacy is illegal in the UK, people are permitted to bring children born by a surrogate mother from countries abroad where the practice is allowed.
‘Baby shopping’
Surrogacy law expert Louisa Ghevaert claimed the data showed the “progressive and inclusive approach to surrogacy in the UK”.
However, Lexi Ellingsworth, co-founder of campaign group Stop Surrogacy Now, said: “The fact that the majority of single male applicants for a parental order in Britain are over 40 should prompt some probing questions about surrogacy. Children are not a lifestyle purchase and pregnancy and labour is not a service.”
Children are not a lifestyle purchase
Surrogacy Concern founder Helen Gibson stated: “Men are effectively going abroad baby shopping, with total disregard for the baby’s need for their mother and the woman who is being subjected to a higher-risk pregnancy and financial and physical exploitation.”
Surrogacy ban plea
The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) called for the worldwide eradication of surrogacy in a report published last year.
Reem Alsalem branded the practice “exploitative”, “commodifying and objectifying women’s bodies”, and something that needs to be eradicated “in all its forms”.
The UN expert rejected the notion that people “have a right to rent out a womb and then remove a child from their mother”. She added: “it’s just insane how this has been allowed to happen”.
‘Buying babies from strangers has become normalised – without thought for women’