surrogate motherhood

The concept of “surrogate motherhood” implies the human reproduction process where a woman gives her free wish to become pregnant in order to carry and give birth to a child who would have no biological relation to her and would be subsequently brought up and educated by his or her genetic parents. The latter will be legally recognized as the parents of the baby, despite the fact that the baby was carried and born by a substitute mother.

Although the term of “surrogate motherhood” is used on a rather broad scale, it is still quite evident that its standard description given in Geneva by the World Health Organization in 2001 is the most precise: "Gestational courier: a woman whose pregnancy was commenced as a result of fertilization of oocytes belonging to a third party with the use of spermatozoa belonging to a third party. She is ready to carry her pregnancy on the terms or according to the agreement that one person or two persons whose gametes were used for fertilization purposes will be recognized as the parents of the child to be born.”

surrogate motherhood in Ukraine

The surrogate motherhood business is entirely legal in Ukraine. The attitude of the Ukrainian legislation to this accessory method of reproduction is more positive than in most other European countries.

The Family Code of Ukraine (art. 123, p. 2) stipulates that in those cases where an embryo conceived by a married couple is transferred into the body of a different woman such married couple will be recognized as the parents of the child and, in particular, as a result of fulfillment of surrogate motherhood programs. P. 3 of the same article provides for the use of donor’s oocytes by a husband and wife in the course of implementation of IVF programs. In any such case and under any circumstances the embryo will be recognized as the one originating from the married couple.

Therefore, married couples who agreed that the accessory reproductive techniques should be used would enjoy all the rights and duties in respect of children who might be born as a result of application of such techniques. The medical aspects of this issue are regulated by Order 24 of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, dated February 04, 1997.