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Surrogacy and the law

Have we in Ireland learned nothing from our recent history?

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott

The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.

Thu Jun 27 2024 - 00:12

Sir, – There is one question about the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill that no one seems to be able to answer. Are prospective “commissioning” parents vetted? People who seek to adopt children in Ireland are subject to stringent and lengthy suitability assessments by Tusla. Will prospective parents who seek to acquire a child by surrogacy be subject to the same evaluation? On searching the 197-page Bill I can find no reference to the words “vetting”, “Tusla”, “screening”, “psychological or physical suitability” or “criminal record”. This seems like an extraordinary oversight. – Yours, etc,

SANDRA ADAMS,

Baldoyle,

Dublin.

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Sir, – As a woman, I welcome Senator Rónán Mullen’s raising of concerns about surrogacy and especially international surrogacy which the Government is attempting to legislate for in the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 before the Seanad (News, June 24th). As a woman, I wonder why there’s an attempt to normalise expecting women to undergo pregnancy and childbirth only to give away their babies at birth.

We all know that most women in Ireland wouldn’t want to do this. The Bill being rushed through the Seanad allows single adults from the age of 21 to apply to commission a baby through surrogacy. In the main, it’s likely to be poor women in other countries who will be paid to do this. Have we in Ireland learned nothing from our recent history that we will repeat the exploitation of women and their babies again? – Yours, etc,

JILL NESBITT,

Women’s Space Ireland,

Bray,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – I followed the Surrogacy Bill debates in the Seanad on June 20th intently and with perplexed curiosity. Proponents, including the Minister for Health, rejected several seemingly reasonable amendments proposed by both opponents and supporters of the Bill. The most alarming was the rejection of an amendment by Senators Keogan and Mullen to explicitly exclude convicted sex offenders, especially those with convictions for sexual offences against children. Of course we cannot legislate to prevent these offenders from having children naturally, but why would we legislate to assist them?

It was shocking to see Oireachtas members once again flagrantly weaponise same-sex couples and our human rights, accusing dissenters of not wanting gay men to have children. Same-sex attracted people are not fodder for your political debates, nor are we a shield you can use to shut down debate. Moreover, labelling any and all opposition as “far right” or “anti-LGBT” to silence debate is intellectually dishonest and divisive. It stifles legitimate discussion and harms the integrity of our discourse

Moreover, labelling opposition as “far right” or “anti-LGBT” to silence debate is intellectually dishonest and divisive. It stifles legitimate discussion and harms the integrity of our discourse.

We also heard assertions that opposing surrogacy is “anti-choice”. This deliberate comparison to views on abortion is nothing short of insulting. I firmly believe that women should have access to reproductive care, including abortions where necessary. I voted Yes in 2018 on the basis that I know women should have the right to bodily autonomy and to have control of her reproductive decisions. In the instance of abortion, it is a woman making the decision about her own body, her own health, her own life. In the case of surrogacy, it is wealthy couples asking another woman to pause her own life, to take hormonal injections, put her body and indeed her life at risk, with the promise of a monthly payment which as been washed of its reality by dubbing this €2,000 to €4,000 a month salary as “reasonable expenses”.

The lack of solid arguments against proposed amendments, the inability to provide direct answers to exceptionally reasonable questions and concerns raised by opposing Senators, and conflating the opposition’s views on other issues rather than focusing on the task at hand, were a stark display of the lack of democratic and legislative process and the Minister’s clear desire to rush this through.

This is legislation that will affect many people, not just in Ireland, but women across the globe.

To rush this through and dismiss valid concerns will be yet another stain on our history of how we view women in this country. – Yours, etc,

ANNAIG BIRDY,

Dublin 8.

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