Dr. Lydia Bracken:

Under the Bill in its current form, that is not an appropriate model for surrogacy. If, however, we look to other jurisdictions in the context of amending this Bill, we can create a coherent model of surrogacy. Using the pre-conception approach would enhance the best interests of children, in particular. I mentioned South Africa where there is a lot of case law which emphasises the benefits of the pre-conception approach, focusing on how the best interests of the child can be prioritised in that way because there is certainty for everyone involved. When the child is born the parents have full capacity to care for them from that moment. The case law from that jurisdiction can be very useful in helping us to understand why that is a very good approach to take.

The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 makes it very clear that anonymous donations will not be allowed. Any donor gametes that are used have to be fully identifiable and the same process will be used in cases of surrogacy. That is really important from a children's rights perspective so that children have access to information about their backgrounds, to vindicate their right to identity. Having identifiable information is very important from a legal perspective.