Surrogate mother to be named on birth certs

The genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate has lost her legal battle to be declared the children’s legal mother on their birth certificate.

In a landmark Supreme Court judgment the State yesterday won by a 6:1 majority its appeal against a High Court ruling that the genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate is entitled to be registered as their legal mother on their birth certificate.

Ms Justice Susan Denham, the Chief Justice, said the issues in the case arose from radical developments in assisted human reproduction and were “quintessentially” for the legislature, not the courts, to address.