In a surrogacy procedure, a woman consents to carry a pregnancy for another woman, intended mother, who for some reason cannot conceive. Surrogacy may be traditional or gestational. When the surrogate mother’s egg is used to produce the...
moreIn a surrogacy procedure, a woman consents to carry a pregnancy for another woman, intended mother, who for some reason cannot conceive. Surrogacy may be traditional or gestational. When the surrogate mother’s egg is used to produce the embryo, the method is called traditional surrogacy. In contrast, gestational surrogacy is performed by transferring embryos created via in vitro fertilisation using the eggs of a donor or the intended mother. In traditional surrogacy, since the surrogate mother’s egg is used, she is not only the biological mother but also the genetic mother. In gestational surrogacy, when the reproductive cells of a couple who wants to have a child are used, the intended mother will also be the genetic mother. In the case of egg donation, the genetic mother refers to a woman other than both the surrogate and intended mother.
Although surrogacy is legally prohibited in many countries, due to the increasing infertility rate all over the world, those who want to have a child make agreements with surrogate mothers in countries where this method is permitted, which deepens legal problems. At this point, the first problem to be faced at the time of childbirth is the issue of legal parentage. It is a generally accepted principle in countries where surrogacy is prohibited that the woman who gives birth is the mother. Whether individuals who come from these countries and want to have a child in a foreign country where surrogacy is legal can attain legal parental status will affect many legal issues, such as citizenship, family life, establishing personal relationships, custody, maintenance, and inheritance, which are of great importance to the child. Therefore, in the case of international surrogacy, the legal framework under which legal parentage will be established is of utmost importance.
Because of different regulations and approaches among countries regarding surrogacy, problems arising from international surrogacy have been the subject of European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) judgments over time. In the ECtHR judgments, the issue is generally evaluated within the scope of the right to respect for private and family life guaranteed under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Besides, it is seen in the judgments that when determining whether this article has been violated, the right to respect for private life takes precedence over the right to family life. In this regard, it is observed that the violation is ruled in terms of the child’s right to respect for his/her private life rather than the prospective parents’ right.
As a rule, the ECtHR leaves a wide margin of appreciation to States both in the regulation of surrogacy and in the recognition of a child-parent relationship established in another country. However, since the child-parent relationship constitutes an essential aspect of the child’s identity, the ECtHR narrows its margin of appreciation when assessing, on a case-by-case basis, the violation of the child’s rights under Article 8 due to the lack of formal recognition of family ties. When it comes to children, protecting their best interests is always a priority, and since genetic ancestry forms an important part of a child’s identity, it is particularly important to protect the best interests of the child when one of the prospective parents is also a genetic parent.
It has been observed that some national courts in Spain, Germany and France, under the influence of ECtHR judgments, have begun to find solutions to legal parentage issues arising from surrogacy on a case-by-case basis, considering the principle of the best interests of the child. However, it is unclear whether courts in other countries where this practise is prohibited will adopt this approach. Therefore, recognising the increase in international surrogacy practises and the complexity of private international law problems arising from these practises, The Hague Conference on Private International Law began to work on a private international law instrument.
Turkey is also a country in which surrogacy is expressly prohibited by law. However, the legality of surrogacy in neighbouring countries, especially in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as well as Greece, Ukraine, and Georgia, strengthens the possibility of problems arising in Turkey due to international surrogacy. The law applicable to the legal parentage of a child born through this method must be determined according to Article 16 of the Turkish International Private and Procedural Law (MÖHUK). However, since this provision reflects the approach in which the mother is always identifiable, it is highly ambiguous in terms of how well it can serve to protect the best interests of the child born through surrogacy. Because this article, which is regulated under the assumption that the egg belongs to the woman giving birth, and the sperm fertilising the egg belongs to the husband of the woman giving birth, does not have a structure that can ensure the establishment of parentage between the intended parents and the child. Therefore, considering that the Hague Conference’s work will take time to become finalised and applicable, and the prevention of the establishment of legal parentage between the child and the intended parents may result in violation of Article 8 of the ECHR, it would be appropriate to resolve the issue of legal parentage arising from international surrogacy with a paragraph to be added to Article 16 of MÖHUK.
