Surrogate parents are in a legal limbo due to lack of legislation

Emily bonded with her daughter, who was born via a surrogate, as soon as she was placed in her arms. However, she has since separated from her husband and fears her parental status will not be recognised due to the lack of legislation

"In their eyes, I am their mother. In the State’s eyes I am not." Picture: iStock

It was a Friday night in January when Emily*, a Midlands-based professional on the cusp of turning 50, sat down with her husband to watch an RTÉ documentary.

The couple had married with the intention of building a family, but it hadn’t happened. IVF procedures hadn’t worked. A journey to adopt, begun very hopefully, had stalled.