Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985
| Year | 1985 |
Surrogacy ArrangementsAct 1985
1985 CHAPTER 49
An Act to regulate certain activities in connection with arrangements made with a view to women carrying children as surrogate mothers.
[16th July 1985]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Meaning of ‘surrogate mother’, ‘surrogacy arrangement’ and other terms.
(1) The following provisions shall have effect for the interpretation of this Act.
(2) ‘Surrogate mother’ means a woman who carries a child in pursuance of an arrangement—
(a ) made before she began to carry the child, and
(b ) made with a view to any child carried in pursuance of it being handed over to, and the parental rights being exercised (so far as practicable) by, another person or other persons.
(3) An arrangement is a surrogacy arrangement if, were a woman to whom the arrangement relates to carry a child in pursuance of it, she would be a surrogate mother.
(4) In determining whether an arrangement is made with such a view as is mentioned in subsection (2) above regard may be had to the circumstances as a whole (and, in particular, where there is a promise or understanding that any payment will or may be made to the woman or for her benefit in respect of the carrying of any child in pursuance of the arrangement, to that promise or understanding).
(5) An arrangement may be regarded as made with such a view though subject to conditions relating to the handing over of any child.
(6) A woman who carries a child is to be treated for the purposes of subsection (2)(a ) above as beginning to carry it at the time of the insemination or, as the ease may be, embryo insertion that results in her carrying the child.
(7) ‘Body of persons’ means a body of persons corporate or unincorporate.
(8) ‘Payment’ means payment in money or money's worth.
(9) This Act applies to arrangements whether or not they are lawful and whether or not they are enforceable by or against any of the persons making them.
2 Negotiating surrogacy arrangements on a commercial basis, etc.
(1) No person shall on a commercial basis do any of the following acts in the United Kingdom, that is—
(a ) initiate or take part in any negotiations with a view to the making of a surrogacy arrangement,
(b ) offer or agree to negotiate the making of a surrogacy arrangement, or
(c ) compile any information with a view to its use in making, or negotiating the making of, surrogacy arrangements;
and no person shall in the United Kingdom knowingly cause another to do any of those acts on a commercial basis.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) above is guilty of an offence; but it is not a contravention of that subsection—
(a ) for a woman, with a view to becoming a surrogate mother herself, to do any act mentioned in that subsection or to cause such an act to be done, or
(b ) for any person, with a view to a surrogate mother carrying a child for him, to do such an act or to cause such an act to be done.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a person does an act on a commercial basis (subject to subsection (4) below) if—
(a ) any payment is at any time received by himself or another in respect of it, or
(b ) he does it with a view to any payment being received by himself or another in respect of making, or negotiaing or facilitating the making of, any surrogacy arrangement.
In this subsection ‘payment’ does not include payment to or for the benefit of a surrogate mother or prospective surrogate mother.
(4) In proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (1) above, he is not to be treated as doing an act on a commercial basis by reason of any payment received by another in respect of the act if it is proved that—
(a ) in a case where the payment was received before he did the act, he did not do the act knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that any payment had been received in respect of the act; and
(b ) in any other case, he did not do the act with a view to any payment being received in respect of it.
(5) Where—
(a ) a person acting on behalf of a body of persons takes any part in negotiating or facilitating the making of a surrogacy arrangement in the United Kingdom, and
(b ) negotiating or facilitating the making of surrogacy arrangements is an activity of the body,
then, if the body at any time receives any payment made by or on behalf of—
(i) a woman who carries a child in pursuance of the arrangement,
(ii) the person or persons for whom she carries it, or
(iii) any person connected with the woman or with that person or those persons,
the body is guilty of an offence.
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