Surrogacy ruling: Children cannot be made ‘to order’

The Children and Family Relationships Bill does not value marriage and constitutes a far-reaching attack on the needs and rights of children, suggests Ray Kinsella

LAST week’s Supreme Court ruling on surrogacy and on the issue of how we define “motherhood” demonstrates the crisis that now exists at the heart of our engagement with the rights of the child.

The relationship of the child with its natural mother and father shapes the child’s sense of self and identity. Both of these are central to the child’s emotional and psychological development. There is a grave danger that pending legislation will fail to vindicate this right.