Ms Ivana Holub:

I am from Ukraine. I was gestational carrier or surrogate for an Irish couple in 2019. I highlight "gestational carrier" as even though I carried the babies they are not genetically linked to me in any way. They are not my children. There has been a lot of talk lately about birth mothers and I feel surrogacy is being likened to adoption. One simply cannot compare the two in my mind as the babies were not mine from the very start; I was only ever minding them for their family. I do not wish to be recognised on the birth certificate as to me it would be a lie because I am not the children's mother. I went into the surrogacy arrangement fully knowing and embracing what my role would be. It truly is a privilege to carry a child and I am proud of my body's ability to do so but equally I feel a woman should not be condemned because her body cannot.

Let me tell the committee about my journey to becoming a surrogate. I had two children. I loved being pregnant. I felt and still do that a baby is God's gift to the world. When I heard about couples who could not receive this gift due to medical reasons I was inspired to help these families feel the joy that I do from my own children. Once I started to research it, the whole process took six months to be accepted as a surrogate. I chose a clinic that I could trust as I had to make sure that I would be okay for my own family's sake. I went into this with my eyes open. I went through medical checks, family history checks, physical and mental assessment. I received legal advice and time to review the contracts before I was eventually signed up as potential surrogate. Yes, I would receive remuneration for being a gestational carrier, and rightly so. I do not see anything wrong with helping my family while also helping an other woman to have her family. All the money in the world would not make me undertake this journey if it was something I did not want to do in my heart.

I hear about exploitation of surrogates because of payment and I think the very opposite. The dictionary describes exploitation as an action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work. Yes, it was my job to carry the pregnancy but it would have been my job whether I was being compensated or not. Women who make the decision to be surrogates are not being treated unfairly in my opinion, as we make an informed decision to proceed and are compensated for our time fairly. It is the total opposite of exploitation. It is about informed consent and where I come from or my economic background should not automatically mean I am not able to make a informed decision and choose what is best for me. I was supported every step of the way on my surrogacy journey. The laws in my country ensured I was protected. I received constant monitoring medically throughout the pregnancy and after the children were born. I was given the option of counselling after the birth and in the months that followed but I choose not to accept, as nothing would provide me more solace and reassurance, if it was needed, than seeing the children I grew in their own mother's arms. If one could bottle that feeling, the pride, the joy and the emotion, one could sell it as medicine for the soul.