Update : 04/2024 Legislation on surrogacy in South Africa has undergone a process of opening up over the years. In 2005, South Africa became the first country on the African continent to legalize surrogacy with the Alteration of the Children’s Act of 2005. This law establishes requirements and conditions for surrogacy, including the need for […]
Argentina
Update: 04/2024 Argentina has become a reference point in the abortion debate thanks to its legislation and social advancements. In 2020, the country legalized abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy, a groundbreaking process in Latin America. This success is the result of a movement driven by feminist activists, human rights organizations, and progressive […]
Brazil
Update: 01/2024 As a corollary to the presentation of surrogacy in the global marketplace, the offer of the practice as a medical solution or treatment for infertility finds yet another example of this misinterpretation in Brazil. Indeed, although the commercial practice is not authorized, the ultimate reference for its regulation does not come from the […]
Mexico
Update: 2022 This study looks in turn at the state of surrogacy legislation, the social context in which it develops, and the situation of surrogates who engage in it. Legislation A country with diverse legislation As Mexico is a federal country, many powers are delegated to the state level. This is the case for surrogacy, […]
Portugal
Update 05/2024 In August 2023, an emblematic case of surrogacy was revealed in Portugal, involving a couple of women and a Brazilian woman in the city of Braga [1]. The Brazilian migrant, who was facing financial difficulties, reportedly “agreed” to carry a child for the couple, one of whom was also Brazilian. […]
Uganda
Update; 11/2023 Will Uganda become a popular destination for surrogacy? THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR SURROGACY IN UGANDA Uganda’s legal framework does not explicitly regulate surrogacy, i.e. it is neither illegal nor explicitly permitted. However, it is practised informally. Pro-surrogacy movements are calling for it to be regulated, arguing that the current situation provides insufficient […]
Philippines
Update: 09/2025 In the Philippines, surrogacy is nevertheless developing in a legal vacuum, which, in addition to the practice itself, encourages its deployment in a clandestine manner. This phenomenon, which is still marginal at the national level, is expanding rapidly in the transnational context, especially in a country that massively exports its female workforce to […]
United-Kingdom
Update: 2023 Surrogacy Legislation The UK has the oldest law regulating surrogacy. It is the subject of a national consultation launched in 2019 with a view to revising it. The changes would focus on three points: the removal of the six-month to six-week period after the birth of the child during which the surrogate and […]
Uruguay
Update 05/2024 Uruguay has stood out as one of the pioneering countries in South America in promoting public policies for gender equality and the promotion of women’s rights[1] in recent decades. For example, this country decriminalized abortion up to the twelfth week through Law No. 18,987 on the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy[2] in 2012. In spite of […]
Vietnam
Actualización: 02/2025 Vietnam is the first country in the Southeast Asian region to introduce legislation to regulate surrogacy. The Vietnamese approach to surrogacy is regulated, allowing only intra-family surrogacy and prohibiting commercial practices. As in all countries where surrogacy is altruistic and regulated, there are deviations from the rules, with people seeking to circumvent the […]