Dr. Lydia Bracken:

Our best information probably comes from the UK, where they are in the process of considering the amendment of their own legislation. The Law Commission of England and Wales is looking at their regulation. Currently the UK regulation is based on a delayed or post-birth model but a number of people have found that to be inconsistent with the reality of surrogacy. They do not feel it is working well. In a survey published by Surrogacy UK, a number of surrogates responded that they did not believe the current UK model was fit for purpose. The majority of respondents believed the intended parents should be the legal parents from the moment of birth. That reflects what we have proposed in our submission, namely, that it should be a pre-conception model. Sociological and psychological research shows that surrogates generally do not see the child as their own. They understand that they are providing this great gift for another individual or couple. They do not bond with the child in the same way that another mother might. They understand that it is someone else's child and are happy with that arrangement.