New Zealand Law Commission Releases Report on Surrogacy

The Law Commission of New Zealand recently published a report on surrogacy.

"This review has examined surrogacy law, regulation and practice, both in the domestic context and overseas. We have taken account of recent international developments in the regulation of surrogacy as well as law reform in other countries."

"A key problem is that the law does not recognise surrogacy as a process that creates a parentchild relationship between the intended parents and the surrogate-born child. Instead, intended parents must use the Adoption Act 1955, now over 65 years old and designed at a time when the modern practice of surrogacy could not have been contemplated. The prompt introduction and enactment of the Paige Harris Birth Registration Act 2022 with the unanimous support of the House illustrates the failure of the current law to meet the needs and reasonable expectations of New Zealanders."

"This Report recommends a new legal framework for determining legal parenthood in surrogacy arrangements. Surrogacy should be recognised as a legitimate method of family building that is distinct from adoption. Our recommendations accommodate all forms of surrogacy arrangements as we think that this will best promote the paramountcy of children’s best interests."

"Alongside a new framework for determining legal parenthood, we recommend a surrogacy birth register to preserve information for surrogate-born people about their genetic and gestational origins and whakapapa [Maori term sor geneaology] . We know from the experiences of adopted and donor-conceived people that such information is fundamental to a person’s identity and wellbeing."