Can a surrogate mother visit her child? Can a surrogate mother claim a child? Surrogacy: what is it?

Modern assisted reproductive technologies allow many infertile couples to experience all the joys of having, and then raising, their genetic child. One of the most controversial procedures is surrogacy. Currently, such programs can be said to be equally permitted and prohibited throughout the world.

In Russia, for example, an infertile couple can easily use the service of a surrogate mother to carry a baby. There has been considerable debate over the past few years as to what is passed on to a child who is born with three parties involved. Let's take a closer look at this issue.

Much medical and scientific research has been conducted on the topic of what is passed on to a child from a surrogate mother. The reason for their beginning was twofold opinions, in which some claim that the baby does not have a genetic connection with the surrogate mother, while others are convinced that such a connection still exists.

Thanks to long-term research carried out by scientists from the University of Stanford, together with specialists from the institute, which studies the problem of infertility, located in Valencia, they have proven the ability of a surrogate mother to transfer genetic material to her unborn baby.

Based on this, we can conclude that the body of every woman who carries someone else’s baby inside her has a direct impact on the formation of hereditary data that the child receives from genetic parents.

Confirmations

The study that was carried out by this group of scientists made it possible to prove the fact that the surrogate mother chosen by the parents is not just an “incubator”, as was commonly believed for many years.

All the genetic characteristics that the surrogate mother possesses in one way or another affect the fetus during its intrauterine development. So, if the surrogate mother’s genes are stronger, then the baby will receive certain appearance and character traits from her. In fact, this discovery has raised numerous ethical questions for medical professionals in this area.

As scientists said, the genetic material of a surrogate mother can be transferred to the unborn child even if the sperm and egg of biological parents were used for fertilization and conception. Multiple clinical and laboratory studies were also conducted.

During this analysis, it was possible to determine the fact that microRNA molecules, which are uniquely present on the mucous membrane of the uterine cavity of a woman carrying a child, are capable of changing the hereditary data of the baby already at the stage of implantation, when the cell develops to a blastocyst.

Experts also noted that there are 27 specific microRNAs that have the ability to change the expression of data. Of these, as many as 6 penetrate into the waters that surround the fruit. Based on this, we can conclude that it is the body of the woman carrying the child that has a direct impact on what genes the baby will have and what they will have to replace.

Actually, this study allows us to understand why quite often surrogate mothers, after the birth of a baby, cannot refuse him, and consider the child genetically their own. Couples who have decided on substitute motherhood should know and take this into account when turning to surrogate mothers. Also, the baby can receive from the surrogate mother character traits and appearance, health status and characteristics, and some habits.

Despite unsubstantiated claims that a child born to a surrogate mother is at risk of social problems, actual research shows otherwise. Objective research on this topic has shown no difference between families with children born through assisted reproduction and more traditional families. According to researcher Susan Golombok, at the Center for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, families created through assisted reproduction or surrogacy do not risk impairment of child development or family emotional functioning. The professor's research found no evidence that children born through the surrogacy program or their families suffer from any problems.

Although there is still little public awareness regarding the level of relationships in new non-traditional families formed through the use of artificial insemination methods, these new types of families are likely not at risk for raising or problems with the adaptation of children (IV with a surrogate mother). Overall, the findings indicate that the absence of a genetic or gestational link between parents and children does not negatively impact the quality of the parent-child relationship or the development of these children.

The study not only challenged common assumptions that families or children through surrogacy suffer due to inadequate bonding during pregnancy. But the findings suggest that structural aspects of the family, such as the number of family members, gender, sexual orientation and genetic relatedness of parents, are less important for children's psychological well-being than the quality of family relationships.

In this regard, it is easy to conclude that surrogate families will often be even superior to many traditional families because the extra care and effort involved in finding and creating a family in this way ensures that the children are truly wanted and long-awaited. In addition, the creation of families through surrogacy is often preceded by a long experience of unsuccessful attempts to conceive using other reproductive methods. Parents in this case passionately desire the child and value him more, which helps to establish a deeper and stronger bond between parents and child. You don't have to give birth to a child yourself to love him.

What do a surrogate mother and a child have in common?

Gestational surrogacy is often joked about as “a bun in the oven!” This joke, oddly enough, accurately reflects the process - we take the intended mother's egg, fertilize it with the father's sperm and place it in the surrogate mother's uterus for 9 months to get a baby. The gestational mother has no genetic connection to the child she is carrying, which is seen as one of the main advantages of the gestational surrogacy process.

Although the embryo receives genetic material from its parents (or egg/sperm donor), there are things that the baby takes from the surrogate mother that the gestational carrier actually influences the fetus she carries (surrogacy center). The surrogate mother's diet, her physical activity, the quality of the air she breathes, even the sounds that surround her affect the baby she is carrying. And, of course, all of these factors come to the mind of parents when they are looking for a woman to become their gestational carrier, along with her excellent health and successful pregnancy and birth experience. Couples understandably want a healthy and stable environment for their baby's first nine months, because we know that exposures inside the womb can have long-term effects on the baby.

Will the gestational carrier or recipient of donor eggs pass on their DNA to the baby they carry? No, it seems that this is not the case (at least as scientists understand it now). Do surrogate mothers influence the manifestation of certain genetic characteristics in the fetus? Yes, reproductive scientists confirm this fact.

Until the current state of development of reproduction and genetics does not require a full scan of the genetic profile of the gestational carrier, intended parents deserve the right to know about all the factors that may affect the health of their child before signing a consent and contract for the birth of a baby by a woman with some kind of hereditary disease.

Children from surrogate mothers reviews

Parents and their children share a deep psychological connection that does not fade over time. It is what makes parents instinctively want to care for and nurture their children, and is important for children's psychological well-being, sense of security and self-esteem. When a child is born through surrogacy, an emotional transfer must occur from the surrogate family to the intended parents. This emotional transfer allows the child to begin communication with his parents and vice versa. The emotional transfer is the culmination of each person's hard work during the surrogacy process. This is the most exciting and emotional part and the time when parents must be as focused on the baby's needs as possible.

Parents and children who have found each other through an experience such as surrogacy speak only positively about it and consider their families to be as traditional and normal as others (ethical problems of surrogacy).

The appearance of twins in the family of Alla Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin, whom a surrogate mother carried and gave birth to for the star couple, once again aroused public interest in the problems of surrogacy.

Over the past 10 years, this topic itself has ceased to seem exotic. And the bearing of a child by a woman for a childless couple has moved into the sphere of medical and household services. And these services are becoming increasingly popular. The demand for them is growing and, according to the laws of the market, the supply is also growing.

Today, finding a surrogate mother is easy: just type a query in an Internet search engine - and you will receive a lot of offers from all sorts of medical centers, agencies and companies specializing, as is usually written on their websites, in the fight against infertility. All, as follows from the advertisement, have their own database, guarantee “quality” for surrogate mothers and professional medical and legal support.

Konstantin Svitnev, the head of one of the largest such Russian companies, agreed to answer RG’s questions.

Which companies are more involved in surrogacy - state-owned or commercial?

Konstantin Svitnev: The state does not provide such services. That’s why all these centers, agencies, firms are commercial. In essence, they are simply intermediaries between childless couples and surrogate mothers, ready to help such people in solving this problem of theirs.

And how much does parental happiness acquired with the help of others cost a family?

Konstantin Svitnev: The price range is wide, everything is determined individually and based on the requests of both parties. The total amount consists of such indicators as selection of a surrogate mother, medical examination, legal support, and fees for the surrogate mother. But one of the clients, for example, wants a surrogate mother from the Tambov region to stay with them for the entire 9 months, say, in Moscow. Then payment for her accommodation and maintenance is added to the original amount. But someone, on the contrary, decides to save money and from the range of services offered by the agency chooses only, for example, the selection of a surrogate mother, expecting to deal with all other procedures independently. Sometimes one of the close relatives of a childless woman acts as a surrogate mother, usually free of charge. And some couples want their surrogate mother to have a personal chef or chauffeur during her pregnancy.

But there are probably still some average prices? How much, for example, can the entire program cost from start to finish? And how much can a surrogate mother herself “earn”?

Konstantin Svitnev: If we talk about the full program, from selecting a surrogate mother to issuing a child’s birth certificate, it costs from 1.5 to 3 million rubles. “Mom’s” fees start somewhere from 800 thousand. The largest fee that was paid to a surrogate mother by clients of our company is 100 thousand euros.

But they also write about fees of 200 thousand dollars or more.

Konstantin Svitnev: And there are such things. Sometimes a surrogate mother wants to receive, for example, an expensive foreign car or an apartment in Moscow as payment for her services.

Judging even by advertisements on the Internet, quite a few women offer themselves as surrogate mothers on an individual basis, as they say, “without intermediaries.”

Konstantin Svitnev: There are a lot of them. And this is a very dangerous business. Firstly, the risk of falling for scammers is very high. Or simply an irresponsible woman who, after 2-3 months, may change her mind and have an abortion. And there are cases when, having essentially given birth to someone else’s child, a woman decides to keep it for herself and not give it to her biological parents. And no one - in both the first and second cases - will be able to stop her. Not the clients, not the police, not the court, not God. The fact is that according to our legislation, all rights to the child belong to the surrogate mother.

Do Russian women become surrogate mothers for foreign spouses?

Konstantin Svitnev: Russian women willingly offer their services as surrogate mothers for European and American childless couples. English-language sites specializing in searching for surrogate mothers are full of advertisements for women from Russia. The information in them is usually short: name, age, height/weight, health status, marital status, religion. The desired fee for the provision of services must be indicated: from 15 to 30 thousand dollars and monthly payment of expenses from 200 to 500 dollars. All women guarantee that after giving birth they will give the child to genetic parents.

Such advertisements can be seen not only by clinics that perform operations with surrogate mothers, but also by potential customers. Russian women are more interested in giving birth in the USA, although this requires meeting many criteria. For example, to be married and have children of your own, and the husband must agree that his wife carries someone else’s child.

From a legal point of view

Alexey Kupriyanov, honorary lawyer of Russia:

By law, all reproductive technologies in the Russian Federation are used exclusively for the treatment of infertility. If a woman simply does not want to carry her child, for example, preferring professional activities, then surrogacy is prohibited for her. Two women always take part in it. And on the birth certificate there may be a third surname - sterile. The egg of one female donor can be fertilized with the father's male cells, the surrogate mother can bear the fruit, and the infertile "customer" can legally become the mother. A surrogate mother is only allowed to carry someone else’s egg. She carries the egg of a potential parent who is deprived of the ability to bear children, or an egg taken from another female donor for an infertile woman. And most importantly, the surrogate mother can keep the child ordered for herself.

What about them?

In most countries of the world, surrogacy is prohibited. In France and Germany, doctors and intermediaries are held criminally liable for such operations. And in Austria, Norway, Sweden and some US states, both genetic parents and the surrogate mother can go to jail. In Britain and Australia, only non-commercial surrogacy is allowed, and in Israel and the Netherlands only its advertising is prohibited. In Belgium, Greece, Spain, Finland, surrogacy is not regulated by law, but in fact takes place. It is permitted in a number of states in the USA, South Africa, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan.

With the help of surrogate mothers, 220 thousand children were born in the world.

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The rapid development of healthcare and reproductive technologies gives hope for the birth of a child to tens of thousands of childless couples and single people. Today, surrogacy is becoming not only popular, but also an affordable option for conceiving and having your own child. At the same time, the weakness and inconsistency of domestic legislation create difficulties and risks for young Russians who want to use the services of surrogate mothers.

Surrogacy: what is it?

First, let's figure out what surrogacy is. First of all, this is one of the modern reproduction technologies that allows young Russian couples to conceive and bear a child even with infertility.

Surrogacy is the artificial insemination, bearing and birth of a child by a woman under a contract concluded between this woman and the child’s blood parents (citizens on the basis of whose genetic material fertilization was carried out).

This reproductive technology is based on contractual relations - surrogate children are born precisely on the basis of an agreement on the service of bearing them. At the same time, the children themselves cannot be the subject of this contract - that is, the parents of the child are initially the owners of the genetic material, and not the woman who carried out the pregnancy, regardless of the final results of the program.

Such a contract is a new form of agreement, different from the civil law forms regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Most of all, such an agreement is similar to a contract for the provision of paid services, regulated by Art. 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The peculiarity of this reproductive technology is that three people are initially involved in conception:

genetic father who provided the sperm;
the genetic mother who provided the egg;
surrogate mother carrying a child.

Let's figure out who a surrogate mother is. This should be considered a woman of childbearing age who has agreed on a contractual basis to bear someone else’s child and in the future does not claim to be his blood mother. After the baby is born, only genetic parents acquire full legal status with corresponding rights and responsibilities.

As for the surrogate mother, from the moment the child is born, her services under the contract are considered fulfilled. Its main task is to provide favorable conditions for intrauterine development, and if such have been created, then the woman’s task is considered completed, regardless of the outcome of pregnancy and childbirth.

Legislative regulation

Until recently, Russian legislation did not contain the concept of surrogacy at all, completely not regulating this reproduction technology and leaving it outside the legal framework. The first legal grounds for its legal implementation appeared in 2011, finally becoming established in 2013, along with the entry into force of the corresponding order of the Ministry of Health.

Today, legal regulation of surrogate fertilization in the Russian Federation is carried out by:

Federal Law of November 21, 2011 No. 323 “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation”, in particular, Art. 55. It defines the concept of surrogacy, criteria for selecting mothers, conditions under which couples can resort to third-party gestation services, conditions and rights of donors of genetic material and other points.
Order of the Ministry of Health dated August 30, 2012 No. 107n. They, in particular, paragraphs 77-83, define the procedure for using surrogacy as a reproductive technology, restrictions on its use, contraindications, stages of implementation, and so on.
Family code. In particular, Art. 51 of the RF IC defines the specifics of making an entry about the parents of a surrogate child in the birth register. Similar features are defined in Art. 16 Federal Law of November 15, 1997 No. 143 “On acts of civil status.”

As for the relationship between the parties within the framework of the childbearing service, they are for the most part regulated by an agreement concluded between the parties.

Surrogate mother: who can become

The requirements for a surrogate mother that a woman carrying someone else’s child under a contract must meet are defined in clause 10 of Art. 55 Federal Law dated November 21, 2011 No. 323 and clauses 78, 80 of the Order of the Ministry of Health dated August 30, 2012 No. 107n. According to them, women can participate in surrogacy programs for carrying other people’s children:

those of childbearing age 20-35 years;
who have given birth to at least one healthy child;
having an appropriate level of health, as confirmed by a medical opinion;
do not have diseases included in the list of contraindications;
consented to medical intervention in their body.

Please note that those who can be a surrogate mother cannot simultaneously provide their eggs for fertilization. Moreover, if a legally married woman wishes to provide pregnancy services, she must obtain the written consent of her spouse.

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Who is eligible to participate in the program

Something else to pay attention to is who is allowed to participate in surrogacy programs as genetic parents. The fact is that domestic legislation on this issue is very contradictory and is quite at odds with judicial practice. So, based on the direct instructions in paragraph 9 of Art. 55 Federal Law No. 323 dated November 21, 2011, an agreement with a surrogate mother can be concluded by:

potential parents whose genetic material will be used to conceive a child;
a single woman who, due to medical reasons, is unable to conceive, bear and give birth to her own child.

There are no other indications in the law about persons who can take advantage of the reproductive program. According to many, this means that no other person can become parents through the reproductive program.

The situation is also aggravated by clause 4 of Art. 51 of the RF IC, which determines that only couples who have received the consent of the surrogate mother and are married can register as parents.

In fact, the law does not contain any restrictions at all for persons wishing to use the services of surrogate mothers.

It is misleading that the legislation does not fully regulate the process of registering surrogate children, but the very judgment that only married couples can use the services of reproductive technology is fundamentally erroneous.

Surrogacy for single men

Another controversial issue is the possibility of concluding a contract with a surrogate mother for a single man. Allegedly due to the absence of a direct reference to single men in paragraph 9 of Art. 55 Federal Law No. 323 dated November 21, 2011, many lawyers claim that such reproduction programs are closed to them.

In fact, this is a stereotype born of the legislative contradictions and gaps mentioned above. This judgment is erroneous, if only because the law does not provide restrictions on participation in reproduction programs not only by marital status, but also by gender.

Judicial practice allows us to understand the fallacy of this judgment. Thus, for the first time, a case of this kind was considered in the capital back in 2010, that is, even before the official legalization of surrogacy.

Then a single resident of the capital, through the court, managed to oblige the local registry office to register a child born under a reproductive program from only one father.

This decision became the first precedent when a child was registered, and there was a dash in the “mother” column. The court motivated its decision by the fact that Russian legislation does not contain restrictions on participation in artificial reproduction programs based on gender or marital characteristics.

Moreover, according to the Constitution, all citizens of the Russian Federation are equal in their rights, which means an equal right to participate in surrogacy for both single women and men. Subsequently, Russian courts made several more precedent-setting decisions on this issue.

Let us note that the most striking example of the use of surrogacy by a single man is the singer Philip Kirkorov, who registered his first surrogate child back in 2011.

What are the rights and responsibilities of a surrogate mother?

Despite the presence of references to reproduction programs in the legislation, not everything about surrogacy can be regulated in law.

In particular, the rights and obligations of the parties are subject to regulation exclusively by agreement - the legislation does not coordinate these aspects of the legal relationship between genetic parents and the surrogate mother.

Having studied examples of standard contracts, we were able to identify the basic rights and responsibilities that are assigned to women who agree to bear other people’s children. Thus, the rights of surrogate mothers include the rights to:

material remuneration subject to compliance with all duties assigned to it in the amount specified in the contract;
payment of all expenses associated with medical examination and fertilization;
payment for medical care related to pregnancy and childbirth;
ensuring full rehabilitation in the postpartum period;
compensation for all expenses associated with bearing someone else’s child;
other rights specified in the contract.

At the same time, the surrogate mother is assigned a list of responsibilities, which, as a rule, include:

creating favorable conditions for bearing a healthy child (ban on alcohol and tobacco, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and so on);
regular observation by a doctor and strict compliance with all his recommendations and instructions;
informing customers about the progress of pregnancy;
providing customers with access to up-to-date and objective information about the health status of a woman and the child she is carrying;
other duties specified in the contract.

Is it possible for a surrogate mother to claim a newborn?

One of the main questions that frightens potential parents is whether the surrogate mother can keep the child.

Despite the very essence of the remunerative relationship between genetic parents and the woman carrying their child, the child itself cannot be the subject of a concluded contract - that is, even if the obligation to hand over the child to the parents is stated in the contract, this does not at all guarantee its transfer.

Registration of a newborn surrogate child by a married couple is possible only with the consent of the surrogate mother. That is, without giving such consent, a woman can quite legally keep someone else’s newborn child, becoming his full-fledged mother.

This position may be motivated by maternal feelings that arise in the woman, or by the desire to persuade the genetic parents to incur additional expenses.

It is worthwhile to figure out whether the genetic parent has the right to challenge paternity in this case. Of course, the law does not deprive him of this opportunity, however, according to paragraph 3 of Art. 52 of the RF IC, when challenging the paternity or maternity of a surrogate mother, the applicant does not have the right to refer to this circumstance.

That is, the only thing that will truly establish the origin of a child is a genetic examination.

In addition, the provisions of the contract may demotivate a woman carrying a child to keep him, depriving her of all material rewards and obliging her to reimburse all expenses incurred.

How to become a surrogate mother

Many women are attracted to surrogacy. Motivated by financial rewards or the desire to help infertile couples, many wonder how to become a surrogate mother.

Women wishing to participate in reproductive programs must contact one of the reproductive medicine clinics. As a rule, they are the ones who select surrogate mothers for their clients. They are also involved in preparing the contract, accommodation, examination and financial support for women.

After receiving all the necessary information, the woman is usually placed in the clinic’s database, where potential clients can find her. Based on the results of negotiations, an agreement is signed between the woman, genetic parents and the clinic, after which fertilization and all related procedures occur.

Problems of surrogacy in the Russian Federation

Due to the fact that surrogacy is a fairly young branch of reproductive medicine, the implementation of such programs is associated with a lot of problems of both a moral and legal nature. Let's look at them briefly.

Legal problems

The most important problem should be considered the imperfection and inconsistency of domestic legislation, which is why many potential parents have doubts whether it is even legal to bear children by women who are not their genetic mothers.

And if the fears of candidates for parents are largely unfounded, then the legislation really leaves much to be desired:

Surrogacy refers to the carrying and birth of a child on the basis of a contract. It often happens that after giving birth to genetic parents.

In this case, it is very difficult to force a woman to hand over the child to the real parents, since this issue has not yet been resolved at the legislative level.

Concept of surrogacy

Such a deal is concluded between the surrogate mother, who carries the fetus, after transferring the donor embryo, and the future parents, who provided the germ cells for fertilization. Not only a married couple can use the services of a surrogate mother, but also a single woman who, for medical reasons, cannot bear and give birth to a child. The issue of surrogacy is regulated by:

Family Code;
Order of the Ministry of Health “On the procedure for using assisted reproductive technologies, contraindications and restrictions on their use”;
Federal Law “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation.”

Usually, to avoid conflict situations in the future, biological parents enter into an agreement with the surrogate mother. However, even the existence of an agreement does not fully guarantee that they will be able to take their child from the surrogate mother without any problems. Regardless of whether there is a concluded contract or not, the surrogate mother must give written consent that the biological parents can register the child in their name in the birth register. After registering the child, the surrogate mother can no longer withdraw her application. If the newborn is registered in the name of biological parents, then on the basis of Art. 52 of the RF IC, they are officially recognized as the father and mother of the child, and the surrogate mother cannot challenge this fact.

What to do if the surrogate mother does not consent to registration

The consent of the surrogate mother to register the genetic parents of her child has priority. If she refuses to give consent, then the mother and father of the child will not be able to receive it, therefore, they will not have parental rights to the child, since legally he already has another mother.

If the contract specifies a condition on the transfer of the child to his genetic parents, then it will not have legal force, since the child cannot be the subject of the transaction. The subject of the contract is exclusively services for bearing and giving birth to a child.

In this case, the surrogate mother must write consent to register the child only after the birth of the child. At the same time, the legislation does not specify how and in what manner such consent should be given. However, the Federal Law “On Civil Status Acts” states that consent is issued within 1 month after the birth of the child. If surrogate mother refuses to give up the child, then this problem needs to be resolved through the courts.

Judicial review of the case

First, it is better to send a written claim to the surrogate mother, but if she refuses to hand over the child, it is necessary to submit. But in such categories of cases there is one difficulty: if the surrogate mother registers the child in her name, then when challenging paternity and maternity, the spouses cannot refer to the fact that the defendant agreed to implantation of the embryo. This means that the consent itself to bear and give birth to a child is not the basis for transferring a newborn to genetic parents, this is stated in paragraph 3 of Art. 52 IC RF. Even a written agreement on the provision of services to a surrogate mother is not accepted by the court as evidence.

The child’s parents may refer to other circumstances when challenging maternity, but as practice shows, they simply cannot have other arguments to obtain a court decision in their favor. In this part, there is a significant gap in the legislation of the Russian Federation, therefore, when registering a surrogate mother of a child in their name, parents have practically no chance of legally taking the child. Parents often refer to the unstable financial situation of the surrogate mother, but the courts refuse in this case. The result is a very difficult situation for the biological parents and the child himself, since his right to live with his biological parents is violated.

Parents can only demand through the court payment of compensation for the expenses they incurred in connection with the pregnancy and childbirth of the surrogate mother. You can also demand payment of penalties for failure to fulfill the contract (if the contract contains such a clause).

Due to the fact that the issue of transfer of a child by a genetic parent has not been resolved at the legislative level, there is a loophole for fraudsters. For example, there are cases when a woman in labor began to demand from the father and mother of the child a fee that was much greater than that specified in the contract.

How to protect yourself using surrogacy services

Despite the fact that the contract cannot stipulate the obligation of the surrogate mother to hand over the child, with the help of the contract you can protect yourself as much as possible. It is necessary to specify in the contract all the responsibilities of the mother in labor that arise immediately after the implantation of the embryo and before the procedure for registering the newborn baby.

Neither the RF IC nor other regulations indicate requirements for drawing up an agreement on the provision of surrogacy services.

It is recommended to specify in detail the amount of penalties that a woman in labor must pay if she surrogate mother refuses to give up the child. For example, it can be stated that in case of refusal to transfer the child to donors, the surrogate mother will not receive her fee, and must additionally cover all costs of medical and other services in connection with pregnancy and childbirth. It is also worth pointing out the responsibility of the surrogate mother for artificial termination of pregnancy.

In addition to penalties, biological parents have the right to include in the contract the following responsibilities of the surrogate mother:

obtaining information about the artificial insemination procedure;
be aware of the health status of the surrogate mother;
receive information about genetic testing, etc.

It is not necessary to have an agreement on the provision of services to a surrogate mother certified by a notary, but it is better to have the agreement certified. The notarization procedure confirms the validity of the transaction, because the notary checks before concluding the transaction:

personal information about citizens who intend to enter into an agreement;
powers of these persons;
explains the consequences of concluding a surrogacy agreement.

Important: it is not necessary to obtain the consent of the mother’s spouse for embryo implantation. However, if a woman does not give up the child and registers it in her name, then her husband, based on the presumption, will be registered as the father of this child.

The State Duma has long been discussing the need to legislate the duties of a surrogate mother to hand over the child to the parents and to deprive the mother of the right to keep the child. However, so far such amendments are only in the draft and have not been approved.