Landmark report shines light on the practice of surrogacy in the UK and calls for legal reform

The first ever report of its kind gives unprecedented insight into how surrogacy is practised in the UK and busts a number of pervasive myths that have informed debate in recent years.

Undercutting widespread belief to the contrary, 'Surrogacy in the UK: Myth busting and reform' finds that the vast majority of UK-intended parents enter into UK-based surrogacy relationships and that they do this on an altruistic basis.

According to the report, written by Dr Kirsty Horsey (a legal academic who has been researching surrogacy and the law for over 18 years) and published by Surrogacy UK, far fewer Britons seek surrogacy overseas than had been previously thought. This dispels the myth that international surrogacy has become commonplace for intended parents from the UK.

The report also shows that there is widespread rejection of any move towards commercialisation of surrogacy. The overwhelming majority of surrogacy in the UK is undertaken by women on an altruistic basis with most UK surrogates receiving less than £15,000 for out-of-pocket expenses incurred, demonstrating that surrogacy is a relationship and not a transaction.

Also highlighted by the report is the overwhelming support (75% of survey respondents) for legal reform in order to better represent how UK surrogacy works in practice. The report shows that both surrogates and intended parents want to remove the legal uncertainty over parenthood at the point of birth. Furthermore, the report finds that 69% of surrogates are opposed to being able to change their minds about giving a baby back to its intended parents. Only 5% believe that a surrogate should be able to change her mind at any point.