‘Historic’ Bill to allow surrogacy to take place in State approved by Cabinet

Long-awaited legislation to allow surrogacy to take place in Ireland has been approved by the Cabinet.

The new legislation will regulate all forms of assisted human reproduction, including commonly-used procedures such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), as well as newer technologies such as embryo screening and surrogacy.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the Cabinet had last week approved the publication of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 and its presentation to the Dáil.

It is five years since drafting of the legislation began and more than 15 years since the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction called for new laws to govern practice in an area of great ethical complexity.

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Describing the legislation as comprehensive and far-reaching, Mr Donnelly said it would ensure assisted human reproduction (AHR) practices and related areas of research are conducted in a more consistent and standardised way and with necessary oversight.

Under the legislation, a new AHR regulatory authority will be responsible for regulating treatments such as IVF, as well as licensing and regulating domestic altruistic surrogacy; pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and other embryo-screening procedures; and posthumous AHR, where pregnancy is achieved using the gamete or embryo of a deceased person, or an embryo created using the gametes of a deceased person.

‘Much-needed Bill’

“I believe the role of the new regulatory authority will be key to embedding safe and appropriate clinical AHR practices in this country,” Mr Donnelly said. “Ultimately, this legislation will improve the outcomes for, and ensure the health and wellbeing of, all of the parties to the provision of AHR treatment, but, above all else, consideration of the children born as a result of AHR must be of paramount significance.”

The new authority will also maintain a new national surrogacy register and the existing national donor-conceived register.

In relation to research involving embryos and stem cells, the legislation sets out what practices are prohibited, what practices are allowed and how they should be regulated.

Mr Donnelly said the Bill was “much-needed and historic”. “It will lead to a robust specific regulatory framework being put in place in respect of this complex, innovative and fast-moving area of medicine, which is currently predominately provided through the private sector.

“This will assist thousands of people who wish to have children safely through AHR, it will clarify the legal position of children born from AHR, and it will ensure that research and new reproductive technologies are carried out within a prescribed ethical context.”

Recommendations

The legislation will also help progress the Government’s plan to provide IVF in the public health system, he added.

Parts of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, commenced in 2020, provided a legal framework for the parentage of children born through AHR treatment involving donated eggs or sperm or embryos.

The Department of Health said the focus in drafting the new legislation has always been on the regulation of practices undertaken "in this jurisdiction exclusively, and therefore it does not contain provisions in respect of international surrogacy".

"However, a special joint Oireachtas committee is being set up to examine all aspects of this most complicated of issues, with a view to issuing recommendations within three months."