As of today, single parents who have had a child born through surrogacy are able to apply for a parental order in the UK, as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Remedial) Order 2018 has come into force.
This means that they will be able to be recognised as their child’s legal parent and will extinguish any rights and responsibilities their surrogate had.
This is welcome news for those single parents who decided to go through surrogacy before the law change with the knowledge that they would remain in limbo in terms of their parental status until/if the law ever changed, but also for those single parents who haven’t yet been able to find a surrogate due to the legal difficulties and uncertainty, to whom the door will now be open.
For those single parents who already have a child born through surrogacy, it is important to know that there is now a six-month period in which they can apply for a parental order.
This will only remain open until early July 2019, and while it may be possible to apply following this, the application will likely be more complex.
