Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024

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Application for parental order - past international surrogacy

216. (1) (a) Subject to subsections (2) to (8), an application (in this Chapter referred to as a “ section 216 application”) may be made to the Court for a parental order in respect of a child (in this Chapter referred to as the “relevant child”) who was born as a result of AHR treatment provided pursuant to a surrogacy agreement (P).

(b) A section 216 application shall be accompanied by the required particulars specified in Part 2C of the First Schedule to the Act of 2004.

(c) A section 216 application shall be accompanied by the following particulars:

(i) in the case of the surrogate mother, to the extent known—

(I) her name,

(II) her date and place of birth,

(III) her nationality, and

(IV) her address and contact details;

(ii) in the case of each intending parent—

(I) his or her name,

(II) his or her date of birth,

(III) whether or not he or she provided a gamete used in the surrogacy agreement (P), and

(IV) his or her address and contact details.

(2) A section 216 application may be made by—

(a) the intending parents or one of them (or, in the case of a single intending parent, that intending parent), or

(b) the relevant child.

(3) The following shall be parties to a section 216 application:

(a) the intending parents (or, in the case of a single intending parent, that intending parent);

(b) the surrogate mother;

(c) the relevant child.

(4) A section 216 application shall be accompanied by evidence that—

(a) the surrogacy agreement to which the application relates is a surrogacy agreement (P),

(b) the embryo from which the relevant child was born—

(i) was created using a gamete from not less than one of the intending parents of that child (or, in the case of a single intending parent of that child, was created using a gamete from that intending parent),

(ii) was not created using an egg from the surrogate mother, and

(iii) where the surrogate mother was party to a subsisting marriage at the time the embryo transfer was undertaken, was not created using the sperm of the husband of the marriage,

and

(c) subject to subsection (9), the relevant child resides with the intending parents or one of them (or, in the case of a single intending parent, that intending parent) named on the application.

(5) Subject to subsection (6), a section 216 application shall be made not later than—

(a) the 3rd anniversary of the commencement of this section, or

(b) 6 months after the birth of the relevant child,

whichever is the later.

(6) The Court may extend the time referred to in subsection (5) if it is satisfied that—

(a) there are exceptional circumstances justifying the extension, and

(b) it is in the best interests of the relevant child to do so.

(7) Subject to subsection (9), a section 216 application in respect of the relevant child shall only be made if any living sibling or half-sibling who was born as a result of the same pregnancy the subject of the surrogacy agreement (P) concerned is also the subject of the application.

(8) Without prejudice to the generality of section 217 (6) and (7), the AHRRA and the Attorney General shall be served with a copy of a section 216 application.

(9) Subsections (4)(c) and (7) shall not apply where the relevant child has attained the age of 18 years.