Letters to the Editor: No parent or child should be left in legal limbo

Former justice minister Alan Shatter blasts lack of action on Bill to protect surrogate families

Former justice minister Alan Shatter says it is a disgrace that comprehensive surrogacy legislation, first published by him in a draft Bill in 2014, has still not been enacted.

I refer to the article ‘Families in Legal Twilight Zone over Foreign Surrogacy’ by Neil Michael ( Irish Examiner, Saturday, November 6). There has been a need for many years for comprehensive legislation and legal procedures addressing the rights and obligations of the parents of children born to a surrogate mother, prescribing legal protections to ensure vulnerable women are not exploited, ensuring all who so engage freely enter into surrogacy agreements and that the best
interests of children so born are fully protected.

Such legislation should address the position of all children born to surrogate mothers both within and outside the State. No parent or child should be trapped in a legal twilight zone and left in a legal limbo.