Surrogacy in Switzerland

Surrogacy in Switzerland
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Surrogacy in Switzerland is strictly prohibited by law. On January 1, 2001, Switzerland adopted the Law on Assisted Reproductive Technologies, which is one of the toughest in the world.

Surrogacy in Switzerland


The Law on Assisted Reproductive Technologies prohibits all methods of medical intervention, which are regarded as abuses of innovative technologies in the field of medicine, and is considered an encroachment on human dignity. In Switzerland, artificial insemination and some of the infertility treatments are allowed, but oocyte donation, surrogacy, freezing and embryo donation, PGD, and the use of embryos for research purposes are strictly prohibited. The Swiss Parliament is going to revise this law in the near future. Childless couples are often forced to travel abroad to solve the problem of infertility. The Swiss often choose Ukraine for that purpose.

Cost


Surrogacy in Ukraine is an effective and popular method of assisted reproductive technology, which helps childless couples become parents even with the most difficult diagnoses. VittoriaVita is a leading surrogacy center in Ukraine with many years of experience offering programs costing 36,000-50000 Euros, which is much cheaper than in the US, for example.

Alternative countries where surrogacy is allowed

In most countries of the world surrogacy is prohibited, in some countries the use of this method of treatment of infertility is a criminal offense. Surrogacy is legal in several countries, including:

Ukraine

Every year, couples from around the world come to Ukrainian reproduction centers to treat infertility in order to avoid problems with the law in their homeland. Ukraine is considered the center of surrogacy in the world due to favorable legislation in the field of reproductive medicine.
Advantages of the programs:

  • surrogacy agencies work under the contract that protects the rights of the surrogate mother and biological parents,
  • the parental rights to the newborn belong to the married couple, there is no need for adoption procedure
  • affordable cost,
  • high quality medical services,
  • a wide selection of reproductive technology centers with their own databases of surrogate mothers and reproductive cell donors,
  • execution of a full package of documents for a newborn.

One of the drawbacks is that single parents and homosexual couples do not have the right to use the services of a surrogate mother.
More information

Netherlands (Holland)

The government has not yet developed a clear regulatory framework to regulate the use of surrogacy for infertility treatment
Benefits:

  • gestational surrogacy is legal (only non-commercial format).

Disadvantages:

  • any advertising of surrogate mothers programs and services is prohibited.

Belgium

Benefits:

  • Surrogacy in Belgium is not prohibited by law, the cost of the program is about 50,000 Euro.

Disadvantages:

  • there is no specific law in Belgium that would regulate the use of surrogacy,
  • since this area is not regulated by law, the successful outcome of the program cannot be guaranteed, as the rights of the surrogate mother and the couple are not protected by law.

More information

Great Britain

Benefits:

  • a non-commercial format for surrogacy is allowed in the country,
  • the surrogate mother has the right to pay for the accompanying expenses during pregnancy.

Disadvantages:

  • there are complex legal rules for registering parental rights in the UK.

More information

Emily Johnson
Obstetrician-gynecologist
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