Expert comment Last updated 03 April 2020
Alison Edwards, senior lecturer in Midwifery at Birmingham City University, discusses the new BBC drama attracting millions of viewers and the legalities of surrogacy.
Surrogacy as being portrayed in new BBC series ‘The Nest’, though clearly dramatized for television, continues to be a valuable source for childless couples looking to start a family. The largest group now making use of this route are same-sex couples, predominantly males, though some may choose this option due to illness, for example those with cancers or lupus.
Though legal within the UK under the Surrogacy Act, strict rules apply regarding payment in particular. It is illegal to advertise to be a surrogate and a registered agency should be used. This provides protection, to some degree, regarding screening of volunteers and matching of couples. However, it is illegal to pay for a surrogate pregnancy. In the UK, a surrogate may only receive up to a sum of £10,000 for expenses – not much if she has to give up a job to start maternity leave and still has bills to pay.
There are unfortunately illegal set-ups, such as a baby camp in India paying £5000 to women there to produce babies . There are clearly challenges with this, in that receiving parents may well not get to know who is providing the baby and the distance limits involvement in the pregnancy. The legalities though can only apply within the UK. There would most likely be difficulties with receiving a baby from abroad, not least with the legalities of the registering of the birth in the UK.
Anti-rejection drugs are used to stop the host mother rejecting the pregnancy, especially if she is carrying a baby conceived from a donor egg and sperm. The drugs are administered by the carrying mother via an injection she gives herself on a daily basis. As with any drugs there are potential risks, which can be mild such as nausea, or at the other end of the scale, a full-blown allergic reaction.
Sadly, for some, surrogacy can bring a wide range of potential problems. Perhaps the key one is that the woman carrying the baby, irrespective of whether the baby is genetically hers or not in any way, has total rights over the baby until parental orders have been signed and this takes place a number of weeks after the birth. This means in theory, and it has happened, the woman may opt to keep the baby for herself. Or in turn, the recipient parents may change their minds and not wish to have the baby. The risk of this increases if the baby has some form of disability for example.
Consequently, surrogacy can be a bit of a minefield. There are partners and siblings to bring into the equation. What if the surrogate mother wishes to substance misuse or if there is a safeguarding issue too? It is clear that surrogacy isn’t something to enter into lightly and this is perhaps reflected in the relatively low numbers in the UK. It’s suggested that just over 1,000 births per year are through surrogate pregnancies, but when it works well it can bring significant positive changes to peoples’ lives.
‘The Nest’ airs on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday.
Image credit: BBC