Professor Deirdre Madden:

There are many reasons it might be preferable for the transfer of parentage to be done prior to conception. It would ensure that the judge or the person scrutinising the process can be satisfied that the surrogate mother undertaking this task has been appropriately screened, knows what the process involves and is aware that she will be relinquishing the child after birth. It would also ensure that the judge is satisfied that all statutory criteria are met before the pregnancy is in existence, so that if there is any doubt or any concern about the surrogate's appropriateness for the role, there is time to remedy it.

The Bill we are discussing already involves a judicial transfer of parentage, so there is already a cost involved.

It is just a matter of timing. One either does it before conception, before birth or after birth. There is still the judicial transfer so the cost will remain the same. It does not necessarily have to be complicated litigation. It is a quite straightforward court application that should not necessarily cost much money, but access to courts is certainly not cheap. That is my response to the Deputy's first question.

The second question was about the issue of harm. I do not claim to be an expert in this area. I read the studies and research from a legal perspective so perhaps Professor Hayes is best placed to answer those questions. However, from my understanding of the studies and research I have read, there is no demonstrated evidence of harm to children born as a result of assisted reproduction or surrogacy. I must also state that in the studies to date in the case of surrogacy, for example, the children are still probably in adolescence and we do not know whether those studies will show the same effects when the children reach adulthood and later life. As longitudinal studies-----