The UK has seen a significant increase in surrogacy demand over the past decade, with twice as many children born to surrogates last year compared to 10 years ago. This rise in demand has led to agencies struggling to keep up, and as fertility challenges and modern family-building evolve, the pressure for more support grows.
Surrogacy often involves trust, goodwill, and shared intentions, but it is also part of a complex legal framework that can be challenging for families to work through without specialist legal advice. Educating families about the importance of this advice early on is essential to protecting individual rights and wider family relationships.
The legal framework is currently based on the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. While there have been calls for parliamentary reform, obtaining specialist legal advice at an early stage remains one of the most effective ways for intended parents and surrogates to work through the current framework and avoid unexpected complications.
Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, the surrogate is automatically the child’s legal mother at birth, regardless of genetics. The surrogate’s spouse or civil partner is presumed the second legal parent unless lack of consent is proven. Intended parents must secure a parental order post-birth to reassign legal parentage, a process strictly governed by statutory criteria.
This statutory delay creates a period of legal exposure during the first few months of the child’s life. While parental orders are routinely granted where criteria are satisfied, practitioners must work through court timetable delays and investigations, alongside strict evidentiary checks regarding habitual residence and genetic links.
The recent McKenna West case in the US illustrates the disputes that can emerge when expectations are not aligned from the outset. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of working through the complex legal framework of surrogacy, and the need for intended parents and surrogates to seek specialist legal advice to protect their rights and relationships.
