Ms Ellen Embury:

The problem we have with the legislation in most Canadian provinces, with the exception of the province of Newfoundland, is that there is no ability to do a pre-birth order. That is an issue we have with our family law statutes from province to province. I am confident that I speak for all of the lawyers who practise in this area, probably all of the surrogates and certainly all of the agencies. Having a model that insists on a waiting period after the birth is very stressful for intended parents and it is equally stressful for surrogates. If a woman has just given birth, I will, of course, wait 24 hours to ensure she has no medication in her system before talking to her. It is at that moment that the stress can be felt and there is a fear of what is going to happen in the process at that time. The prospect of a pre-birth order, particularly with some of the pre-conception policies that the committee is considering, is something that would mesh very well. It does not have to be a one-size-fits-all formula. I would love to see Canada move towards a pre-birth law.