Commercial surrogacy has been legal in Belarus since 2006. For those who want to know more about this country and its laws, please read the following article. Get legal advice in the country. This is important for issues such as the legalisation of British documents, the notarisation of Belarusian documents, the processing of documents and the maximum length of stay allowed by the authorities. Due to security concerns, we are unable to confirm which lawyers are currently offering services. The surrogacy process in Belarus can be long and complicated. In addition, Belarusian law offers the possibility of using surrogacy services not only for married heterosexual couples, as is allowed, for example, in Ukraine, but also for a single woman (single, never married, divorced), which is a very good way for some women to have a baby, almost impossible elsewhere in the world. Sounds very human, doesn`t it? A surrogate cannot at the same time be an egg donor for a woman who has signed a surrogacy contract with her. If you already have surrogacy arrangements: If you are considering changing your surrogacy arrangements or making a new arrangement in another country, you should read the guide for expectant parents considering international surrogacy.

A new change in the law allowed single women who already have adult children to participate in the program. Non-commercial surrogacy is only allowed if one parent is the surrogate mother. During pregnancy, a surrogate is not allowed to smoke or consume alcohol. In case of violation of the requirements, a woman pays a fine and can completely lose her fees. In most European countries, surrogacy is prohibited. In some countries, violations of the law in this area result in severe penalties (Austria, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Estonia). Non-commercial surrogacy is not prohibited in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal and the Czech Republic. Surrogacy is legal in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. But in Greece, Belgium, Spain and Finland, this method of antiretroviral treatment is not regulated by law, but it is also not prohibited. The FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus. Due to potential security concerns related to Russia`s war with Ukraine, we currently advise against ordering new surrogacy arrangements in Belarus. Regarding IVF treatment and surrogacy program in Belarus, we found that in addition to highly qualified specialists and advanced technologies, this country has another invaluable value – very good legal regulation in the field of assisted reproductive technologies, which does not exist in Ukraine, in Georgia or elsewhere where surrogacy is popular today.

Surrogacy in Russia is legal and regulated at the legislative level. There are many gaps in Russian legislation in the field of reproductive technology, the most important of which is that a surrogate mother can change her mind and refuse to give the child to a married couple. In Russia, the so-called presumption of motherhood works, according to which the mother is the one who gives birth, and it does not matter that she has no genetic link with the child. Yes, the surrogate mother carries and gives birth to a child of a married couple, her relationship is governed by an agreement, but the spouses can only become legal parents of a baby with the consent of the woman. Such contradictions can lead to serious difficulties that will be difficult to resolve, even legally. In addition, a surrogate mother may deny the fact of parental rights to a child even after several years. Biological parents have the right to leave the child after birth. The services of a surrogate mother in Russia can be used by married couples, single women and even single men. More information In this law we also find a legal definition of surrogacy in Belarus, called a type of assisted reproductive technology, which consists of connecting a sperm and an egg from the organism of the genetic mother or egg donor, developing an embryo resulting from this connection outside the woman and transferring the embryo further into the uterus of a surrogate mother. to carry and give birth to the child.

2. According to section 21 of the Act, surrogacy may be requested by both a married woman and a woman born out of wedlock. In Spain, surrogacy is prohibited, but the law does not provide for a penalty for the use of this method of fertility treatment. The state does not prohibit married couples from using surrogacy services outside the country, but since 2014, the government has suspended the issuance of citizenship to children born as a result of surrogacy. In Romania, there are no specific laws for surrogate mothers. The concept of surrogate mother gives way to moral debates: the mother who gave birth to the child would consider the baby as her own, while the biological mother might live under the impression that in some way it is not her child. From a legal point of view, the biological mother has all legal rights over the child (according to the Family Code, the mother`s name on the birth certificate must be that of the woman who actually gave birth – and this aspect cannot be challenged by law). Legally, only women with reproductive disabilities have the right to use a surrogate mother. As already mentioned, there must be medical reasons for the use of surrogacy in Belarus, which are specified in the order of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus No.

54 of 01.06.2012 (with amendments). The list of these medical indications for the intended mother is as follows: Most national laws restrict surrogacy due to many ethical and religious aspects that affect this issue. In France, it is totally banned. For France residents, surrogacy is illegal because it violates the adoption law. It is not allowed in countries where the Catholic Church is traditionally strong. The parties to the surrogacy agreement are the genetic parents (genetic mother) and the surrogate mother. The contract is drawn up by a notary in the presence of the parties and must be signed by the parties in the presence of a notary. This means that the Belarusian government pursues a policy of strict protection of medical confidentiality on surrogacy between patients and maternity, since the surrogate mother is not mentioned in either the medical birth certificate or the legal birth certificate issued by the Belarusian Civil Registry Office. In reality, after the surrogacy process, the expectant mother will have the same documentation (medical and legal) as any other woman who gave birth to the baby naturally. There is the Federal Law on the Basics of Health Protection of Citizens of the Russian Federation, which grants couples (including those who are not officially married) and single women the right to participate in the surrogacy programme.

At the same time, the Surrogacy Act does not provide for same-sex couples to participate in such a program. In addition, article 51 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation stipulates that „couples who have given their written consent to the implantation of an embryo in another woman for the purpose of carrying it to term may be registered as parents of the child only with the consent of the woman who gave birth to the child (the surrogate mother)“. Italian legislation in the field of assisted reproduction techniques is quite conservative. Italian Law No. 40 of 19 February 2004 on Standards for Assisted Reproductive Technologies not only completely prohibits surrogacy, but also severely restricts other reproductive technologies. Under Act No. 40 of 19 February 2004 on standards for assisted reproductive technologies, Italians have the right to use assisted reproduction methods that provide only a medical certificate of infertility.