No reform in sight for surrogacy law

Suggested reform a no-go

Baroness Gillian Merron, Minister for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health, recently wrote to Sir Peter Fraser, Chair of the Law Commission, detailing the Government’s review of the legal position on surrogacy.

When Baroness Merron met with commissioners from the surrogacy reform project in November 2024 to discuss recommendations and proposals for an update to surrogacy law, this was regarded as a promising step toward much-needed reform.

However, despite initial hope, her letter stated that the Government was
“unable to prioritise surrogacy reform” and that it does not “intend to put forward these legislative proposals at the current time”.  It explained that the Government has “several key priorities” which have put “significant demand on parliamentary time and resources”. 

As such, the legislative proposals in this area, including provisions for a new surrogacy register and greater clarity for payments to surrogates, will not be implemented at this time. For a more detailed run-through of the proposed reforms, please see our article: Law Commission’s reforms of surrogacy law: where are we now?.

The Birketts view

Jennifer Headon, Head of our Modern Families Team, said: “It is disappointing to hear that the Government has now formally confirmed it will not be progressing much-needed reform to surrogacy law.

“Many of the changes proposed in the Law Commission’s report would considerably simplify the process for intended parents and surrogates, who now have to continue to battle with outdated legislation which has not kept pace with societal change.”

We remain optimistic that the Government’s commitment to revisit this issue “in the future” will lead to the long-awaited and essential reform of surrogacy law.

Find out more about Birketts’ Modern Families Team.