Law reform to follow single parent surrogacy case

Case: M v F

Rose-Marie Drury represented the surrogate mother (on a pro bono basis) in a case that led to a significant change in the law for single parents seeking to have a child with the help of a surrogate. 

The couple (M and F), who had entered into a surrogacy arrangement in the UK, separated before the child was born.  M and F were the child’s biological parents but F and the surrogate mother were the legal parents (because, under English and Welsh law, the woman who gives birth to a child is the legal mother). 

Despite the fact that the surrogate mother had surrendered care of the child to M, and F had made clear that he wanted no involvement in the child’s life - the law at that time prevented M, as a single parent, from obtaining a parental order that would make her a legal parent and permanently extinguish the rights the surrogate had.

As a direct result of this case and other similar cases, the law was changed in January 2019 and single parents can now apply for a parental order following a surrogacy arrangement. 

A link to the judgment can be found here.

  • Rose-Marie Drury

    Principal Associate

    Rose-Marie Drury

    Principal Associate

    • +(44)(03443 276257
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