Russia could soon see a complete ban on surrogate pregnancies thanks to a new bill submitted to the Russian parliament.
The draft law, authored by Russian senator Anton Belyakov, claims that surrogacy is “a gross violation of children’s rights.”
Belyakov said that "numerous scientific studies" had proven deep bonds between mother and child which developed early on in the womb. Breaking that connection by asking a woman to carry and give birth to a baby on behalf of another couple damaged the child’s well-being, he said.
The bill will now need to be approved by Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, before moving on to the upper house of parliament.
Russia has already moved to clampdown on surrogate pregnancies in recent years, with senator Yelena Mizulina proposing a ban on commercial surrogacy in 2014. The law, which Mizulina hoped would stop single women and gay couples from using surrogacy, was not adopted by parliament.
Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency, Mizulina said that Belyakov’s bill could serve as a temporary solution while the country drafted new laws to better regulate surrogate pregnancies.
She maintained that she did not support a complete ban, but said that any commercial elements to the procedure should be controlled.
Russia is now one of the few countries where commercial surrogacy is legal, along with South Africa, Ukraine and some U.S. states. In other countries, including Britain, Australia, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and Canada, surrogacy is legal, but surrogate mothers cannot be paid for their role.
