The commission’s proposed changes would make it easier for same-sex couples amongst others to adopt. Make your submission here!
The New Zealand Law Commission has released a proposed legal framework to provide legal recognition for the parents of surrogate-born children. The review was requested by the Government last July.
The Commission is seeking feedback on the proposals which can be found here.
The draft proposals follows an attempt by Labour MP Tamati Coffey to change the surrogacy laws, through a private members bill first introduced to parliament in 2019.
The ‘Improving Arrangements For Surrogacy Bill’ has yet to be drawn from the private member’s ballot.
The bill, Coffey says was shaped by his own personal experience with the birth of his and partner Tim Smith’s son in July 2019.
“We still underly [the adoption joy] with the fact we resented having to adopt our own biological son, but that’s the process as it stands now and hopefully there will be some law changes to make sure that we modernise things so that couples aren’t having to go through what we went through.”
Principal adviser, Nichola Lambie agrees with Coffey and says the current surrogacy laws in New Zealand are outdated.
“A key problem with the current law is that intended parents must adopt the child in order to be recognised as the child’s legal parents. The surrogate and her partner (if she has one) are the legal parents at birth. The rules were not designed with surrogacy in mind and we think it is time the law caught up with the reality of surrogacy arrangements.” Lambie said.
The Commission has proposed two new legal frameworks to address the issues of legal parenthood and surrogacy.
The first would introduce two pathways for intended parents to gain legal parenthood. In the first pathway, if the surrogacy arrangement meets certain criteria and the surrogate confirms her consent after the child is born, then intended parents can be recognised as the legal parents without the need for a court order.
In the second proposed pathway, intended parents can apply to the Family Court after the child is born to be recognised as the child’s legal parents.
The Commission is seeking views on legal parenthood and six other matters, including:
- the approval process for surrogacy arrangements,
- what financial support surrogates should be entitled to,
- whether Tikanga Māori is provided for under current law,
- how to ensure children born through surrogacy receive information about their origins,
- how New Zealand law should provide for surrogacy arrangements that occur overseas, and
- how to address various barriers to pursuing a surrogacy arrangement in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The commission welcomes all views to be shared in the submission process, with Nicola Lambie saying they want to “encourage children born through surrogacy and those who have been involved in a surrogacy arrangement to have their say on our proposals.”
The consultation period closes on 23 September 2021, with the Law Commission expected to report to the Minister with its final recommendations in 2022.
