UK and Scottish Law Commissioners

Copies to: the Lord Chancellor, Shadow Lord Chancellor, and Members of the APPG on

Surrogacy.

11 October 2019

Dear Law Commissioners

We are writing to express our concern about your joint consultation on proposals to open up

commercial-style surrogacy in the UK. We believe both the proposals and the consultation

are so flawed that they should be scrapped and restarted centring women’s and children’s

human rights.

1. The consultation does not conform to accepted methodology or even the

government’s own consultation guidelines

The consultation paper runs to 502 dense and technical pages and has 118 questions, most

requiring open-ended answers about detailed technicalities, and many with multiple parts.

There are no simple and straightforward questions about the broad issues – such as whether

you think paid surrogacy can ever be ethical, particularly while women’s poverty and

inequality between the sexes are hurtling backwards.1

Similarly there are no questions about whether you agree with the high-level proposals, such

as the ‘new pathway’ as a whole. This is dishonest because in isolation many of the details

appear sound. For example, who could object to pre-conception medical checks on all the

participants? Our concern is that any agreement to the details may be taken as agreement with

the ‘new pathway’ as a whole. This is a major concern given there are no high-level questions

and means that the results of the consultation are likely to misrepresent many people’s actual

views.

1 http://nordicmodelnow.org/2018/04/10/submission-to-the-women-equalities-committees-inquiry-on-the-

implementation-of-sdg5/

2

2. Does not comply with the public sector equality duty (PSED)

Our understanding is that the law commissioners are obliged to comply with the PSED when

carrying out public functions (such as drafting proposals for new legislation and policy and

conducting a consultation on those proposals) but there is no evidence this has been done. As

surrogacy has a very different impact on women and children than on adult males, we believe

the law commissioners are in breach of equality legislation.

3. Uses spurious and discredited ‘human rights’ justifications

The consultation paper uses the spurious and discredited ‘procreative liberty’ argument to

justify a ‘human right’ to a child through surrogacy, while more or less ignoring the

internationally accepted human rights of women and children to not be instrumentalised and

commodified, and that third parties should not profit from that.

Similarly the consultation paper suggests that a woman’s right to choose what to do with her

own body justifies a ‘human right’ to enter into a paid surrogacy arrangement as a birth

mother. This is the same argument that promoters of the sex industry use to justify

prostitution and it is clearly absurd. It is always the most marginalised women with the fewest

options who end up in prostitution and being used as birth mothers in surrogacy

arrangements.

4. Does not conform to binding legal obligations under human rights treaties

The consultation paper admits that it is unlikely that commercial surrogacy could ever

conform to CEDAW and then proceeds to ignore this. Similarly it mentions obligations under

the UNCRC and its first optional protocol and the recommendations of the UN Special

Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, but then appears to engage smoke

and mirrors to pretend the proposals do not conflict with these obligations when clearly they

do.

Moreover the consultation paper (e.g. on page 85) suggests that obligations under ratified

human rights conventions are not legally binding. However, our understanding is that

ratification of a human rights convention does place a legally binding obligation on the state

to implement its terms. This is of particular relevance when drawing up proposals for new

legislation.

It seems to us that there is no possible justification for consulting on proposals that are in

direct violation of the human rights conventions that the UK has ratified and yet this appears

to be what the law commissioners have done.

5. No consideration of the medical risks

Surrogacy is a branch of reproductive medicine and any new laws should be informed by the

medical processes and risks to the health, safety and wellbeing of the women who are the key

participants in the process and the children who result. There is no evidence, however, that

3

the law commissioners consulted with medical experts, such as midwives, specialists in

obstetrics and gynaecology, and child health, before drawing up their detailed proposals.

Apparently at one of the official consultation events, one of the law commissioners threw up

his hands and said “we are not doctors, we are lawyers” and explained they hadn’t concerned

themselves with medical matters. How can this be justified when the risks are profound and

include death?

One of the arguments for banning payment of organ harvesting is that it puts health

professionals in the invidious position where any pretence at dispassionate care is

compromised by the direct conflict of interests of the ‘donor’ and the receiver of the organ.

This argument applies equally to egg donation and surrogacy and yet it is not considered at

all.

6. No consideration of the linked and dangerous practice of egg harvesting

Modern surrogacy is predicated on a supply of eggs harvested from healthy young women.

This is a dangerous process that carries serious health risks, including premature death, and

there are major ethical issues involved – and yet the consultation maintains complete silence

on this. Nor is there any mention that pregnancies using a different woman’s eggs carry

significant additional medical risks – even though this is now the norm in surrogacy

arrangements.

7. No consideration of the psychological risks to the birth mother and baby

There is little long-term research on the outcomes of surrogacy to birth mothers and babies,

because it is only relatively recently that it has been practiced on a large scale. However,

there is extensive research on the outcomes of adoption, which has close parallels.

Studies of women who gave up babies for adoption find that they tend to suffer chronic grief

for the rest of their lives and have heightened susceptibility to psychological problems, up to

and including suicide. Studies of adopted children have found that they are susceptible to

similar difficulties – even when their adoptive parents were loving and their basic needs were

well met. Many experts now consider these risks to be related to the separation of the mother

and infant at or shortly after birth.

These risks were not considered or even mentioned, and nor were the consequences for

society as a whole and the financial costs to the NHS and other public services that will

inevitably be left to pick up the pieces.

8. No measures to prevent and criminalise coercing women into participation

It is well-known that women and girls are groomed and coerced into prostitution by partners

who act as their pimp and take all or much of their earnings. The same dynamics inevitably

occur in relation to surrogacy when it is paid.

4

Pimping is a criminal offence – which, even though it is poorly enforced, sends out a clear

message that it is wrong. But the consultation paper does not recognise that if implemented,

the proposals will inevitably be accompanied by attempts to coerce young women into acting

as a ‘surrogate’ mother for someone else’s financial and material benefit and there is no

provision for measures to address this.

How can this be justified, when there are reports2 in the press almost daily about

unscrupulous people exploiting marginalised women’s eggs and babies for profit?

9. No serious consideration of the coercive forces of payments in the current

environment of extreme inequality

The law commissioners propose removing all restrictions on

advertising surrogacy in the UK. Young women are already being

targeted with adverts for ‘donating’ their eggs and if these proposals

are implemented, Facebook and Google will inevitably also present

ads to young women suggesting that surrogacy can be a solution to

their financial difficulties. How can this be ethical at this time of

worsening inequality?

A recent Guardian article3 reported that student accommodation now

costs on average 73% of the funding students can receive through

loans and grants. As a result the majority of students need to find

additional sources of income while studying. This impacts young

women more seriously than young men because they have fewer opportunities for decently

paid casual work. These economic inequalities, and the way girls are socialised to put other

people’s needs ahead of their own, make women particularly vulnerable to being enticed into

surrogacy arrangements when it’s not in their best interests.

If the proposals (including a minimum age of 18 and no requirement for having already had a

child) go ahead, there is a very real risk that very young women will become ‘surrogate’

mothers under the coercion of poverty and that this will have a hugely detrimental impact on

their life chances and happiness.

The consultation paper includes no consideration of this. Instead it seems the primary concern

is to facilitate and ease the acquisition of a baby by the commissioning ‘parents’ in clear

breach of obligations under the PSED.

2 For example: http://greekcitytimes.com/2019/09/27/greek-police-bust-biggest-illegal-egg-donor-industry-

europe/ and http://nypost.com/2019/10/01/nigerian-police-rescue-19-women-from-baby-factory/ &

http://www.dovepress.com/current-perspectives-on-the-ethics-of-selling-international-surrogacy--peer-

reviewed-fulltext-article-MB 3 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/aug/17/6000-a-year-for-a-room-if-i-were-a-student-id-probably-go-

on-strike-too

5

10. No consideration of the inherent inequality of the surrogacy relationship

Under the proposals for a ‘new pathway,’ legal parenthood will be conferred automatically on

the commissioning ‘parents’ at the moment of birth with the birth mother having only a five

week window (shorter in Scotland) from the moment of birth to register her objections. If she

objects, the decision will be made by the courts, with the criteria favouring the

commissioning ‘parents.’

This will have a chilling effect on the legal recognition of the unique nature of the mother-

child bond, with potentially serious implications for all women and children down the line.

Yet there does not appear to have been consideration of any of this, nor of the gross

inequality of the situation, should the birth mother find she simply cannot give the baby up.

She will have just gone through the upheaval of pregnancy and giving birth and is likely to be

poor and with little legal or social support – while the commissioning ‘parents’ will have

lawyers and agencies behind them who will have many financial and commercial reasons for

wanting the arrangement to be legally sealed. At no point does the consultation paper

consider the plight of that young woman and her human rights, nor of the child’s human right

to his or her birth mother and the well documented consequences of disrupting the continuity

of care in the first three years of life.

11. No recognition that there are other options than surrogacy

We recognise the anguish of hankering for a child of ones own that cannot be. However, we

do not believe that surrogacy is a reasonable solution to this anguish. It simply transfers the

anguish onto others – usually a woman, who is marginalised in one way or another, and the

child who is born of the arrangement.

There is no absolute human right to have all our wishes and dreams fulfilled, and

disappointment and frustration are inevitable parts of human life.

We believe that there are many other ways of looking at the problem of childlessness and that

at this time of imminent environmental catastrophe and deepening inequality and poverty, it

is profoundly irresponsible to not do so.

12. Does not comply with the law commissioners’ own code of practice

The UK law commissioners’ code of practice4 states that responsibilities include “ensuring

that the Commission properly takes account of the diverse needs of all those affected by

its proposals.” It should be stunningly obvious from the above that they have abjectly failed

to do this in this project.

The consultation page on the Law Commission website states that the surrogacy project falls

into the “Property, family and trust law” area of law and that the commissioner in charge is

4 http://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-storage-

11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2015/03/Commissioners_code_of_practice_2014.pdf

6

Professor Nicholas Hopkins, whose chief area of interest5 and expertise is “law as it applies

to land.”

As women, the terrible irony is not lost on us that this project that is designed to make it

easier for men in particular to gain access to children (as if they are private property) by

instrumentalising women as wombs (as if they are public property), is being run by a man

who has no known expertise in children’s welfare or women’s rights but who is instead an

expert in the law of property.

Finally

We hope that the law commissioners and all involved have the integrity to acknowledge that

putting forward these proposals without considering all the implications for women and

children is unconscionable.

It seems to us that the law commissioners were captured by a well organised lobby of people

with vested interests in opening up commercial-style surrogacy here in the UK. We know that

they can be very persuasive and persistent because some of them have trolled our social

media accounts. However, they must be seen for what they are – a lobby of individuals with a

lot to gain personally by the opening up of commercial-style surrogacy and who are blind to

the needs of others and the best interests of society as a whole.

Legislation and policy must always put the needs of the most vulnerable first and clearly the

law commissioners have failed to do this.

We urge the law commissioners to return to the drawing board and start afresh under the

leadership of a female expert in women’s and children’s human rights and a healthy degree of

scepticism for the voices of those who stand to benefit commercially and materially.

When viewed dispassionately, we believe there is no possible conclusion except that a total

ban on surrogacy is the only approach that conforms to human rights obligations.

More information

For a more in-depth discussion of our concerns, please see the following articles on our

website:

The Law Commission’s Surrogacy Consultation: How to bamboozle through a

dangerous new law 6

Why the UK surrogacy consultation should be abandoned 7

5 http://www.reading.ac.uk/law/about/staff/n-p-hopkins.aspx 6 http://nordicmodelnow.org/2019/08/15/the-law-commissions-surrogacy-consultation-how-to-bamboozle-

through-a-dangerous-new-law/ 7 http://nordicmodelnow.org/2019/09/24/why-the-uk-surrogacy-consultation-should-be-abandoned/

7

Yours sincerely

UK organisations:

1. Nordic Model Now!

2. Women’s Voices Matter

3. Nia

4. Campaign Against Sex Robots

5. Cardiff Resisters

6. CitizenGO UK

7. Click Off

8. Essex Feminist Collective

9. FiLiA

10. Forwomen.Scot

11. FOVAS

12. Imkaan

13. Leeds Spinners

14. Liverpool ReSisters

15. London Irish Feminist Network

16. Mayday 4 Women

17. Not Buying It

18. Not For Sale in Scotland

19. Older women’s group, Totnes.

20. Radical Feminists Unite

21. ReSisters United

22. Rooms of our Own

23. Scary Little Girls Association

24. SWAP Scottish Women Against Pornography

25. The Judith Trust

26. The Recovery Hub Ipswich

27. YES Matters UK

International organisations:

1. Obradoiro Feminista

2. Asociación Los Antón Follas Vivas

3. ABSA (Abolish Surrogacy Australia)

4. ASAMBLEA FEMINISTA 8M

5. Asociación Equidad e Igualdad

6. Asociación feminista Gafas Moradas

7. Attard Ladies Cultural Club

8. CATAB

9. Center for Bioethics & Culture

10. Edmonton Small Press Association (ESPA)

11. Edmonton Women & Allies Against the Sex Industry

8

12. FINRRAGE (Australia)

13. Gafas Moradas

14. Malta Confederation of Women’s organisations

15. MALVA

16. Marea Violeta de Jerez

17. Mujeres por la Abolición

18. Mujeres Supervivientes de violencias.

19. PETRA Maternidades Feministas

20. Plataforma Feminista 8M

21. Plataforma Navarra de Mujeres por la Abolición de la Prostitución

22. Stop Vientres de Alquiler

23. Tertulia Feminista Les Comadres

24. UPADD

Individuals:

Name Comments

A Haynes

A. Black

Abigail Burnyeat

Abigail Watson

Adela

Adela Ros

Adèle Nicol

Adelina María Martín Martín

Adriana Olmedo

Aída Gil

Aimee Gatliffe This makes me very scared. If babies are treated like

products to be bought and sold, this has real world

ramifications as well as troubling ethical ones.

Ainara Tirapu

Ainhoa Flecha

Akgul Baylav

Alabama Whitman

Alan Neale The law should not be based on the notion of ‘procreative

liberty’. No-one has a ‘right to reproduce.’ Surrogacy should

be outlawed, not regulated.

Alejandra Bernardo Andrés

9

Name Comments

Alessandra Asteriti Women are not breeding animals and children are not a

commodity

Alexandra Ellingsworth

Alexandra Macdonald I don’t think enough consideration has been given to the

protection of the poorest and most vulnerable women in

society. A child is not a commodity to be bought and sold. I

am desperately sorry that childless people experience such

pain but who explains to the child how they came into the

world? what about the pain that may cause?

Alexandra Poynton I am horrified at the one-sided approach of these proposals,

which are entirely in the interests of the commissioning

parents, and do not appear to consider the many risks (both

medical and emotional) to the surrogate mother and the

child. We should be moving towards the ethos of other

civilised European countries, which are banning surrogacy,

and for very sound reasons.

Alice Bondi

Alice Smith

Alicia Howitt

Alicia López

Alison Gover

Alison Gunn

Alison Jenner I’m worried that there is little consideration for the women

who either provide eggs and gestate them or gestate donated

eggs.

Alison McCormack

Alison McQueen

Alison Simmons

Alison Wren

Alix Connelly It contravenes the UN protection of women and children

Allan Budge

Allison Jones This is shocking and just plain wrong

Amaia Sarasa

Amanda Alcalde

Amanda Bravo

10

Name Comments

Amanda Ross This opens the door to paid organ donation, which is also

clearly unethical.

Amba Illingworth

Amy Stratton

Ana

Ana Bataller

Ana Canal Gutiérrez

Ana Domínguez

Ana Estrella Ryan

Ana Galbis Calomarde

Ana García de Polavieja

Aguilar

Ana Lebón

Ana Morán

Ana ysabel varela da silva

Anastasia Yarnykh

Anber Raz

Andrea Jackson I support the letter of complaint

Andrés M. Florián Q. Surrogacy is nothing more than the exploitation of women’s

reproductive capacity and the sale of their babies. It is human

trafficking. It is slavery.

Andrew Davis

Andy Burton

Angela Costley

Angela Munuera Bassols To make the use of women’s wombs for surrogate pregnancy

legal would be the legalization of a new form of slavery.

Slavery was banned by our ancestors. Let us keep track with

them.

Angela Navarro Martinez

Ann Gannaway

Ann Haigh

Ann Hall I am in total agreement with the points raised here. There

must be a total ban on surrogacy to avoid exploitation and

objectification.

11

Name Comments

Ann Moran

Ann Sinnott

Anna Bluman

Anna Caro Surrogacy is exploitation of women and of children

Anna Childs

Anna Fisher

Anna Lockhart

Anna Newson

Anna Sabisky

Anna-Marie Dolan

Anne Bevan You must not legislate for taking control of women’s bodies

and making babies objects to be traded.

Anne R

Anne Shott

Anne Todd Signing as an adopted person who is aware of the

complexities of adoption and I am concerned about issues

around surrogacy for mother and baby.

Anne Worthington

Annette Lawson OBE The Judith Trust works to close the gaps for people

(especially women) who have both learning disability and

mental ill heath. Such women are vulnerable to coercion and

to financial incentives. This consultation leaves out vital

ethical overarching arguments. It is incomplete and starts

from an acceptance (it would appear) that wombs can be

rented.

Annette Catherine The framing of this consultation has has been disingenuous

and should not stand. The public should have a full right to

say whether they support surrogacy or not.

Annie Gwillym Walker I believe the consultation to be overly complicated in its

presentation. This subject is, of course deeply complex but

should be presented to the public in a format that is more

easily understood. We are all aware that it is women in

poverty who would be attracted if surrogacy became an

industry. Let us not further exploit women.

Annie Morris Women and children are not commodities.

Annie Quigg

Antonia Avalos

12

Name Comments

April Buckley

Araceli Tejedor

Ashley Donnan

Aurora Palomiko

Auxiliadora Jiménez León

Aylen

Azucena Jiménez López

Azul Muñoz

Balma

Barbara Lapthorn

Barbara Lyon

Beatriz Tabernero Moya

Bec Wonders

Becky Fury

Becky Protopsaltis

Belinda Langridge

Belle Doyle

Berta O. García

Berta Ojea

Beth Longstaff

Beth Miller

Bev White

Beverley Landricombe

Brenda Frost I don’t want my grandchildren to grow up in this kind of

world.

Brian Morris

Bridget Barr

Brigitte Lechner I made an attempt to respond to the consultation but gave up

for several of the reasons listed above

C McDermott

C Myers

C. Eileen Lynch

13

Name Comments

C. Walker

Camila

Caridad Zurita

Carina Moravec Please abandon this awful idea until it has been thought

through properly.

Carina Westling

Carlos Martínez Aguado Having a child can’t ever be a business.

Carman Ford

Carmen Women and children are not objects to be used and sold

Carmen Bailón Ramos Women are not ovens, and babies are not products.

Carmen de la Rosa

Carmen Jiménez

Carmen López Barreal

Carmen Morell Muñoz

Carmen Pérez Martínez

Carmen San Segundo Cordero

Carmen Sánchez Maldonado NO SOMOS VASIJAS

WE ARE NOT VESSELS

Carol Ackroyd

Carol Angharad How low can we go in this country? Babies for sale now?

Carol O’BYrne The best interests of the child should be the chief concern.

Also, the protection of the women acting as surrogates

should be a huge priority given the risks & vulnerabilities of

pregnancy and childbirth.

Carol Ratcliffe

Carole Budge

Carolina Borrás

Caroline Butlin

Caroline Davenport Thomas Surrogacy is not in the best interests of the Mother or baby. It

is the buying of a child.

Caroline Farrow

Caroline Horne I agree fully with this letter.

14

Name Comments

Caroline Mooney

Caroline Stevenson

Carolyn Costigan The rights of the child should not be overlooked.

Casey Robinson

Catherine Constanti

Catherine Harper This Consultation is deeply flawed. It is profit-led ignoring

the welfare and rights of the women and children. Our

position calls for a total ban on surrogacy and that this UK

Consultation be abandoned.

Catherine Healey Please! This is terrible!

Catherine Stevenson A flawed and dangerous consultation.

Cathie Sutton

Cathy Devine

Cathy Turner

Cati

Cecilia Tideborg

Celeste Piozza NO TO RENT BELLIES!!

Celsa Muñoz Leira

Ceri Williams

Chantal Pottage

Charlie Hadley

Charlotte Crouch

Charlotte Delaney Find me a rich comfortable woman who is happy to rent her

womb out.... Also what does this mean for the kids who are

born this way?

Charlotte McCallum

Charlotte Wells

Charly Hensman

Cheryl McCorkell

Chloe Kapagiannidi

Chloë Klassen

Chris Beard

Christiano Rey

Christie Flowers

15

Name Comments

Christina cosgrove

Christine Clavey

Christine McConnell Please think very carefully about this.

Cindy Douglas I am deeply concerned about the push towards

commercialisation through the language used and the

proposed changes that this proposal represents.

Cindy Le Bideau

Claire Brierley

Claire Malone

Claire Meadows-Haworth

Claire Quatermass Economic coercion is not consent.

Clare Fisher

Clare Long-Summers

Claudia Figueira

CLODAGH ALLEN

Constance Sharp

Cristina Contreras

Cristina Galán rubio

Cristina Hernandez de Dios

Cristina Roig Amade

Csengele Horn-Barta

Cynthia Piña

Dana Nelson

Dani

Daniel Hernando

Daria Crowley

David Battersby

David Edwards

David Pugh

Dawne Brown I am appalled at this blatant push to commercialise surrogacy

and disregard the motivation of poor women to participate.

The paucity of considered, responsible consultation beggars

belief.

Dea Le Bargy

16

Name Comments

Debbie Barker I have been a surrogate and it has destroyed my life.

Debbie Taylor-Osborne No woman should feel that the only way for them to survive

is through selling their body. Only men benefit from this.

Deborah Davy

Denise Prideaux Women are not portable wombs and pregnancy and birth are

dangerous undertakings. A human baby is not goods for sale.

This is an immoral and dangerous trade, into which women

and girls are already being trafficked and coerced,

worldwide. Look at the example of Germany’s legalisation

of brothels, and see what results when you throw

safeguarding out of the window. The rich exploit the poor,

and criminals prey on them to supply the depraved consumer

“demand”. This is the sale of children, and the reproductive

enslavement and pitiable exploitation of women in poverty.

Do not abandon these vulnerable people to the market.

Diana Cendrero Brown

Diana Muñoz

Diane Stoianov

Diego

Dorothy Butlin

Dorothy Reilly

Dr Anna Ziad Loutfi

Dr Cara Marshall

Dr Catharine Coleman

DR HOPE M. MACDONALD

Dr Kate Baxter

Dr Lesley Semmens

Dr Louise Irvine

Dr Marie Therese Cuschieri

Dr Pamela Osborn

Dr Paul Hewson PhD CStat

CSci

Dr Renate Klein Surrogacy needs to be abolished as it is a human rights

violation of the so-called surrogate mother (a misnomer), the

egg ‘donor’ and the children born from surrogacy who never

asked to be ‘take away’ babies.

Dr Sarah Smith

Eduardo Aguayo

17

Name Comments

Edward Dobeson

Eileen McAninly

Eleanor Canero

Eleanor Pickets

Eleanor Street

Eleanor Walsh The consultation MUST be accessible to all; it is too

important an issue to get wrong.

Elena Albisu

Elena Sanz

Elena Sciberras

Elisa Pidal Pardo

Elisabeth Winkler Surrogacy is a human rights issue with huge implications for

vulnerable young women and children. Once money is

involved, the potential for trafficking and abuse is real. I

speak as a mother, grandmother and former ante-natal

teacher: bringing a child into the world is a huge

responsibility. I do not want to commoditise children and

pregnancy. It is much more complex than that – and, as we

know from adoption, many children need to know their

origins.

Elizabeth Carola Please rethink. Women--and all people--in poverty need

genuine economic choice.

Elizabeth Lucas

Elizabeth Pott

Elizabeth Purslow Growing numbers of countries in Asia are banning surrogacy

to protect their population from exploitation. Several

European countries such as France, Spain, Sweden and

Switzerland ban surrogacy. The UK alone is seeking to ease

the path for international surrogacy tourism whilst opening

up a commercial market at home. A truly shameful position

to be in.

Elizabeth Rowell

Ellen Fairhall

Ellen Morrissey

Ellen Perry

Eloisa Urrutikoetxea

Eloyna LLana

Elspeth Summers

18

Name Comments

Emily Garcia ReSisters United vehemently opposes the commercialisation

of surrogacy. We believe this proposal represents yet another

prong in the current wave of attacks on the rights and status

of women and girls in society.

Emily Pugh

Emma Abella Cruz

Emma Dickson

Emma Dolan

Emma Flynn

Emma Goulart

Emma Goulart

Emma Idzikowska Women and babies are not commodities

Emma Nicol

Emma Salmon

Emma Thomas

Emma Webb

Erin

Estefania trevino

Estelle Ruby

Esther Díaz Pedroche

Esther Menéndez López

Estoy de acuerdo No estoy de acuerdo con los la subrogación, o vientre de

alquiler

Estoy de acuerdo y quiero

apoyar

Eva

Eva Carretero del Castillo

Eva Pillado

Eve Becher Women’s bodies should not be commodified.

Fatina Liza

Felicity Auer

Fenella Maddison

Fiona Cadell

Fiona McAnena

19

Name Comments

Fiona Mottershaw

Fiona oldam All I can see in this act is the abuse of women by men.

Babies are not a right of life. There are other options to bring

up children including many children already in care needing

homes.

This act has huge implications for all involved. Vulnerable

young women will be targeted. I cannot see enough evidence

of procedures in place to prorect the vulnerable people

involved. There is no need for surrogacy and certainly no

need to advertise it as a standard approach. I don’t want my

young daughter to see these adverts and feel it is a choice.

Fiona Scott

Frances Davidson

Frances Gillard

Francesca McPherson

Francine Sporenda

Francisca Lopex Arias

Frankie Spence Children want mothers. I’ve taught children being brought up

without their mothers. They still make Mother’s Day cards

for them, even when they never see them. They yearn for

them. Please don’t deny children their mothers. Don’t deny

them being nursed by their mothers, don’t deny them the

chance to be nurtured by their mothers. This isn’t to say male

gay parents don’t make brilliant parents - they do whether

they foster, adopt or have a child with a woman who then

shares parental responsibility/care with them. I’ve known

happy children who are parented, in separate households, by

a mum and gay dads. And I’ve known children who yearn to

know their mothers and carry the burden of not knowing

them. Please do not burden children with this loss.

Freya Cadwallender

Gail Chester If nothing else, the inordinate length and the

incomprehensible nature of the questions of the full

consultation means that this consultation should be

withdrawn. I am reasonably well acquainted with the issues

involved, and I gave up completely trying to deal with the

full consultation document.

Gail Pickett

Gala Rodríguez

20

Name Comments

Gary Powell So-called ‘altruistic’ surrogacy arrangements are a cheaper

version of commercial surrogacy, and the same objections

apply to surrogacy as apply to the selling of human organs. It

is a wealth-based exploitative activity reinforcing a two-

tiered society and the commodification of women and

children.

Gayle Baldwin

Gaynor Newnham.

Gee Black

Gema Vidal

Gemma Aitchison Women are people, not objects

Gemma Griffiths

George Green

Georgia Constantinou

Gill Cottrell

Gill Rimmer

Gina McCaughan

Gunilla S. Ekberg

H Jarvis

Hanna Carlsson

Hannah Dadd

Hannah Green Women’s bodies are not a commodity for rental. Exploitation

in this field is inevitable. Alienation of the resulting

individuals born or harvested this way is inevitable.

Unethical for those reasons. There are other ways to start a

family.

Hannah Harrison

Harry Miller

Hazel Turner Lyons

Heather de Jong

Heather Finlay

Heather Graham

Hedvig Kärnekull

Helen Bailey

Helen Elster Jones

Helen Hodges

21

Name Comments

Helen Lewarne We take too little account of the dangers in pregnancy,

possibility of stillbirth or the birth of a child with disabilities

that the prospective parents may reject. Surrogacy is not a

mere private, financial exchange.

Helen Lipscomb

Helen McDonald

Helen Oyintanda The Law Commission’s work has shown them to treat

pregnancy and birth as if a person was buying a fancy car!

Surrogacy using the body, healthy and well being of a

woman to create a brand new autonomous human being.

The existing law recognises that human trafficking is a

horrendous wrong.

The proposals pay no regard to the new life – they can just be

purchased. It shows no regard for the fact that women are

being allowed to be encouraged to sell their ova (that formed

inside their mother’s bodies) and are having too many ova

removed. It pays no regard to the psychological and physical

bonding with the birthing mother. It treats all of this as just

raw materials and processes. It is absolutely inhumane.

All that is bad enough without the added disgrace of it being

a for-profit endeavour.

Block commercial human trafficking in the form of baby

manufacturing.

Helena Linares Ramírez

Hilal

Ibis

Imma Sau

Imogen Porter

Inés

Inma

Inma Guillem

Inmaculada

Inmaculada Correas Jiménez

Inmaculada Parra

Irena Fick

Iria María Rodríguez Pérez

Iria Rodriguez Seijo I think this practise attacks human rights.

Irune Costumero

22

Name Comments

Isabel

Isabel Bou-Bayona

Isabel Diez-Diaz

Isabel Piñar Gómez

J A S

J Gourley

J Selvakumaran

J. Lawrenson It is acknowledged that the Ukraine has a thriving foreigner

driven surrogacy market – as is usual, the temptation to earn

money from harvesting eggs or acting as a surrogate is a lure

for women who live in poverty or who lack the skills to earn

money or who are economically disadvantaged.

Because of the numbers of women involved, and the

infrastructure that exists on the back of these women, it is

recognised that the economic benefits of surrogacy to the

region preclude legislation to reform its surrogacy laws

On the one hand, there is an expectation that women will rent

their wombs cheaply as though commercial surrogacy is an

act of altruism, when the physical impacts of pregnancy on a

woman’s body are manifest and many. What price do we put

on abstinence from alcohol for 9 months, discomfort, stretch

marks, nausea and heartburn, and the very real risks to

maternal health and the possibility of maternal death?

On the other hand, agencies, middlemen, clinics and lawyers

have no cap on the fees they charge with none of the risk -

surely an exploitative situation.

It is my opinion that commercial surrogacy should not be

allowed. Private arrangements within families that really are

altruistic acts must of course be allowed, but there is

something distasteful about the law seeking to legislate

around a woman’s womb and her capacity to maintain a

pregnancy.

There is no human right to have a child or to be the parent of

a child

J. S. I have up-close and personal experience of the problems of

surrogacy-the lure of its cash incentives to alleviate poverty-

the hidden costs of health and psychological well-being-the

conflict of interests resulting in exploitation-the child treated

as a commodity, and the female as property to be used whilst

her womb is in rent, and then discarded or sold-on

afterwards. A Handmaid’s Tale of our time; of the realities

of surrogacy warping procreative liberties for personal gain,

23

Name Comments

and disrupting the mother/child bond essential to health and

development.

Jacky Foster

Jacky Holyoake

Jacqueline Gruhn

Jacqueline O’Connell

Jacqueline O’Dwyer

Jacqui Stewart

Jalna Hanmer

James Digby

Jan Baxter

Jane Ayres

Jane Callahan Surrogacy commodifies women as reproduction vessels for

richer people. Do not enshrine this into law.

Jane Galloway

Jane Glass

Jane Schofield

Janine green

Janine Pyke

Janis Goldring

Janis Goldring

Jasmine haque

Jay Williams

Jean Fuller Women and babies are not products

Jeff White

Jennifer Lahl

Jennifer Soilan

Jenny Rönngren

Jenny Taylor Surrogacy is renting of the womb and is not a medical

necessity. Please can we treat women as full human beings

and not just as a collection of isolated body parts that can be

rented out according to the highest bidder.

Jerome Hill

Jess Smith

24

Name Comments

Jessica Masterson

Jessica Newbold

Jessica Surman

Jessica Winkler

Jethro Cadbury

Jhon

Jill Collier

Jill Gardner

Jill Hall

Jill Nesbitt I’m appalled at the idea of women’s bodies being used in this

way

Jimena Olmo

Jo Campbell

Joanna

Joanne Payton

Joanne Priest

Johanna Christie-Smith

John Knowles

John Rimmer

Jorge F. M.

Josefa Diaz ortega

Josephine Bartosch

Judy Tocher

Julia Marshall

Julia Pajares Gil

Juliana Johnston

Julie Finneran

Julie Foster

Julie Furlong

Julie Layden

Julie Smith

Julie Wood

Juncal Gutiérrez-Artacho

25

Name Comments

K Sunney

Karen Davies If we don’t allow vulnerable people to sell their kidneys we

should not allow them to sell their bodies and babies.

Karen Harris

Karen Murdarasi

Karin meier cacharo

Karrie Payne

Kate

Kate Alexander

Kate Bramwell

Kate Sage

Kate Styles

Kate Tagseth

Kate Tyler

Kath Glover

Katharine Jones

Katherine Aiken

Katherine McElwee

Kathleen Richardson

Kathryn Edwards

Katia Hernández

Katrina Glennie As soon as money, enters a situation especially this one,

there are too many vested interest for the arrangement to be

in the baby’s best interests

Kay Warner Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, signing for all

women and the children they bear.

Kaye McIntosh The consultation is deeply flawed. It must be cancelled and,

if it is not dropped, completely redesigned to make it

possible for members of the public to give their views. It

must also address crucial ethical issues, including the

necessary and important equalities impact assessment. It

must also address ethical issues, medical concerns and

women’s rights. It is not good enough for the law

commissioners to say ‘we are lawyers’ and to refuse to

address the medical issues of medical procedures. Do some

research.

KC

26

Name Comments

Keith Holmwood

Kelly Frost These proposals are straight out of the Handmaid’s Tale.

Terrifying.

Kerry Griffiths

Kimberlee Ponson Women are not broodmares.

Kirstin Wallace

Kruti Walsh

Kym Barlow

L Albert

L. Panayi

Laetitia Pichevin-Harrison The proposed new pathway entirely disregards the risks of

exploitation of women’s reproductive capacities and of child

trafficking. It is unethical, commodifies women’s bodies and

children. It is biased toward the rights of the prospective

parents to purchase a child and goes against human rights. It

needs to be scrapped.

Laix Khan

Lara Yates

Latiesas Rodriguez, Sofia

Laura

Laura

Laura Álvarez Paz

Laura davies

Laura Gallego Garcia

Laura Hall

Laura Isabel Gómez García

Laura McCormick I am having fertility difficulties, the passing of this

legislation would benefit me, but it is tantamount to human

trafficking and must not be allowed to become law.

Laura Protheroe

Laura Rivas Martínez Women are not pieces of meat and cannot be sold or rented,

for whatever purpose. Surrogacy is reproductive exploitation.

Lauren Hamstead

Layla Twigger

Leah Marchbank

Leanne Hamilton

27

Name Comments

Lee wiles Having a baby is not a human right, women’s bodies are not

for sale and neither are babies. Commercial surrogacy

impacts in the most poor and vulnerable of women those we

should be protected and uplifting not using them as

incubators. Please consider this.

Lewis Slaven

Liane Timmermann This is a disgrace.

Lilian Bermejo-Luque

Liliana Lopes

Lilith Monzoncillo

Linda Daniel

Linda Labonte-hurst

Linda Toivio

Linsay McCulloch

Lisa Ware Women and children must never be commodities

Lisa-Marie Taylor

Liz Gerty

Liz pitt

Liz Vickers

Lola Fernández Palenzuela

Lola Rodríguez Fernández

Lola Rodríguez López

Lola Rodríguez Martínez

Lola Ruíz Gomez

Lola Venegas

Lorena Gómez López

Lorena McLaughlin

Lorna Shiels

Lorraine Roberts

Louisa Harraway

Louise Bond

Louise Fox

Louise Luxon-Kewley

Louise Nelson

28

Name Comments

Louise Williams Obtuse, unfair and inappropriate. This consultation should be

scrapped. You’ve missed the point.

Lourdes Ortiz Pérez

Luba Fein In Israel, gestational surrogacy is legalized and regulated by

the ‘Embryo Carrying Agreements Law.’ This is a form of

state-controlled surrogacy in which each and every contract

must be approved directly by the state.

The law stipulates that the surrogacy process must be carried

out according to an agreement approved by the Special

Certification Committee, which includes physicians from

various fields, social workers and jurists. All agreements are

submitted to this committee. Applicants are required to

supply a long list of documents: surrogate mother and

intended parents’ medical certifications, criminal records of

intended parents, feedback from psychologists and social

workers, etc. The law permits the intended parents to pay the

surrogate mother a fee to cover her expenses and

compensation for loss of income, etc. The purpose of this

law is to prevent abuse and exploiting of vulnerable women.

Thus, the Committee is expected to identify poor, vulnerable

and disadvantaged women who have been pushed to

surrogacy because of debts and other adversities, and to

prevent their exploitation. The committee should also

identify families with questionable motives for having

children.

The total payment to the surrogate mother is currently about

40,000 pounds. The contractual agreement between the

parties is structured in such a way that the surrogate mother

receives most of the money after delivery, which guarantees

her willingness to stay pregnant.

Indeed, in the media and social networks we see many

middle-class surrogate mothers who testify that their choice

was free and educated. They were driven by conviction and

money was a secondary motive.

Despite the oversight, some uncomfortable pieces of

evidence of local surrogacy can be found in Israeli media.

The following is the summary of coverage made by a

feminist journalist Liat Bar Stav:

1. Most surrogate mothers go through several fertilization

attempts, and sometimes they have miscarriages. IVF

pregnancy is always considered as a "pregnancy at risk", so

the chance of miscarriage is higher. IVF is a medical process

that causes physical harm. A number of artificial fertilization

attempts, sometimes followed by miscarriages, harm a

surrogate mother physically and mentally.

29

Name Comments

2. The maximum number of IVF attempts is six (!). A

surrogate mother can go through six failed fertilization

attempts, harm herself physically and mentally, and only get

insignificant compensation.

3. Occasionally surrogate mothers are indicative of the over-

parenting of their intended parents, who make attempts to

limit their diet, prevent them from traveling etc. Obviously,

when a surrogate mother is suffering from abusive

interaction with the intended parents, she cannot "resign"

from work in the middle.

4. There are cases where the pregnancy is terminated due to

fetal malformation. Even then, the compensation is

insignificant.

Another article, from 2014, claims that :

1. A maximum number of fertilization attempts are six, but

special permission can be obtained for further fertilization

attempts. The article has testimony from a woman who has

undergone nine fertilization attempts, all of which failed. The

compensation the woman receives was extremely negligible;

about £ 120 for a single failed fertilization attempt (cost of

living in the UK and Israel is similar).

2. A case is documented in which the surrogate mother

collapsed mentally because of the pressure from the intended

parents (before she was impregnated). It says that the

intended parents "agreed to release her from the agreement

without penalty." This means she was not compensated and

could also pay a fine in such a vulnerable situation.

Another important point: surrogacy of Israeli couples mostly

happens abroad, in countries known as commercial

surrogacy destinations (such as Georgia), in harsh conditions,

while exploiting economic gaps between countries. Once the

process is legal and socially acceptable – most people will,

by nature, try to simplify it, avoid bureaucracy and pay less

for it. Even under a relatively strict Israeli law, normalized

surrogacy causes harm to the surrogate mothers, and also

encourages the continued exploitation of disadvantaged

women in poorer countries.

Lucía Babiano Women are human

Lucía Siading Have you forgotten what adoption is? You are using

women’s gestation capacity as a baby-creating machine!!! If

a baby is born, the woman who got pregnant of her or him, is

the mother, unless it’s given on adoption, but anyway, the

baby must know about her or his origins!!! Stop baby

trafficking please.

Lucinda Coleman

30

Name Comments

Lucy Winters

Luisa María López Garzón No a los vientres de alquiler. “No somos vasijas”

Lula Gómez

Luz Arantza Crespo Dorrego

Lynda Peachey

Lynette Bondarchuk

Lynn Alderson Laws must not be changed without a thorough examination

of their impact, particularly on disadvantaged groups such as

women for whom many factors may distort the notion of

‘choice’.

Lynn Thomason

Lynne harne

Lynne Sedgmore

M Parker

M. Rocío Navarro Fosar

Mª Montserrat Díaz Pedroche

Magi Gibson

Mar

Mar Muñoz

Marcia Hibberd Women’s bodies should not be exploited.

Marco Gutiérrez Ruiz

Margaret Gibson

Margaret Nelson

Mari Beagrie

Mari Lires

Mari Mar Molpeceres

Molpeceres

Mari Pousada

Maria

María Jesús Cuéllar

María Ángeles Estévez

Corruchaga

Maria Antonia Martinez

María de la Paz Cobo Cobo

31

Name Comments

María del Mar Cabrerizo

María del Mar Daza Bonachela https://www.academia.edu/38995298/LA_GESTACION_SU

BROGADA_A_DEBATE

Maria Dolores Carmona

Navarro

Maria Dolores Quesada Ruiz

María Dolores Soto

María Esther Fernandez Vieito

Maria Eugenia

María José González

María José Moreno Sànchez

Maria jose Moruno Lopez

María Martín Motherhood is priceless and is not an object of commerce.

María Pardo

Maria Rossi

María Soler Núñez

María Teresa López

Maria Teresa Rodriguez Garcia

Maria Victoria Oliver

Marian

Marianna Nodale

Marie D’avalo

Marie Gibson Women and their wombs and the children birthed thereof are

NOT property.

Marie Louise Almond

Marina Dueñas Fernández

Marjory Robertson

Marjory Smith

Marlyn Glen

Marta Campo

Marta Garcia Gutierrez

Marta Lacueva

Marta Morell Muñoz

Marta Pacheco Grano de Oro

32

Name Comments

Mary Hinsley Women and children are not commodities to be bought and

sold.

Mary Hordon

Mary Mc Dermott There must be an international ban on surrogacy and

cooperation between states to ensure that this practice is

abolished.

Mary Morrissey

Mary North-Gatfield

Maureen O’Hara

Maureen Quinn Women aren’t baby factories

Maurice Marshall

Maya Paldi

Megan Kohnhorst

Melanie

Melanie Stapper

Melanie Stokell

Mercedes

Mercedes Carruana Martínez No a los vientres de alquier

Meritxell Naranjo Mora

micaela

Micaela García

Michanne Henze Surrogacy exploits the poor

Michele Harrison

Michelle Quinlan

Milagros López

Milagrosa Romero González

Miquel No.

Mónica Núñez Bua

Monika Neall

Montserrat Martínez Sánchez

Morag Deans

Mrs Ruth Ouda This proposed legislation makes women’s bodies a factory

and the babies they produce a commodity - it cannot be

ethical.

33

Name Comments

Ms J Connelly

Ms Jenifer Lavery

Ms Lee Fisher

Myriam Vivar Muñoz

Naomi Miles These proposed changes to the law would have far-reaching

unintended consequences.

Natalia López

Natalie Dillon

Natalie Richards

Natalie Suckall

Natalija Grujovic Against all styles of surrogacy, especially the commercial

one. Women’s bodies can’t be for rent.

Natasha Perry

Natasha Wurtz

Natividad Aguilera Lara

Nerea

Nia Melville

Nicholas Davies

Nicola Barnes

Nicola Benge

Nicola Carr

Nicola Freeman

Nicola Kerry

Nina Gadsdon

Nina Humphries

Noelia Campos Gan NO A LA MAFIA REPRODUCTIVA!!!

Noelia García

Nuria Coronado

Núria García Capellà

Núria Puigbó

Nuria Sánchez Aparicio

Obdulia Menéndez Díaz

Ofelia

34

Name Comments

Olaia Martínez castro

Olga Radulovic

Oliva Lema

Oliver briggs

Olivia Akhurst

Olivia Palmer

Óscar López Antón

Paddy Manning Surrogacy is the only human activity to combine eugenics,

murder, prostitution, slavery, kidnapping and child abuse. No

civilised person should countenance it.

Paige J Bramley

Pam Smith

Paqui

Patricia Bordoy

Patricia Garside Women are not a collection of useful body parts. I don’t

want to live in a country that will pass laws endorsing that

idea of women.

Patricia Moriel McIntosh

Paula Fraga Arias

Pauline Dussault

Pauline Fowler

Pauline Kranendonk Commercial surrogacy is not compatible with women’s and

children’s rights. Women’s bodies are not factories: we are

human beings. Children are not commodities. The entire idea

of legalised surrogacy must be shelved as it violates the

rights of the most vulnerable in these two already oppressed

groups.

Pauline Lord

Pauline Wickes It seems immoral to make a business from having babies

pedro hernández

Penny Gane

Peter Edwards

Peter MacKenzie

Peter Simonsson

Petra Amengual Florit

Pilar Ponte Patiño

35

Name Comments

Pippa Plevin So the rich can buy a baby, doesn’t matter about the woman

involved it seems.

R Pearce

Rachael

Rachel Ralison

Rachel Whiteley

Rae Robinson

Raquel Hermoso

Raquel Redondo

Rebeca Torres Mosquera

Rebecca Jesty Children are a gift not a right.

Rebecca Lush

Rebecca Mordan

Renee LaFortune

REYNA CASTILLO

MARTÍNEZ

Richard Seaman

Robbie Humphries

Rocío

Rocio Isabel Gonzalez-Peña

Rocio Lopez Millon

Rona Stewart Surrogacy is dehumanising for women, and dangerous for

the child involved too. Nobody has a right to a child, and

using women as brood mares is a disgrace. It is also linked

with the human trafficking going on in the world, another

disgusting blight upon decency and humanity.

Rosa León

Rosa Maria Sánchez Jiménez

Rosa Quinteiro Rendo

Rosa Sanchez Women’s bodies can’t be rented.

Rosario Maria

Rosaura

Rose ades

Rose Sanders

Rose Seabury

36

Name Comments

Rowan Glen

Rowan Leigh

Ruth Dineen

Ruth James

Ruth Rigby

Ruth Thornett Women’s bodies are not for sale, this is slavery

Ruth Tweedale As a family law lecturer, women’s rights activist and lawyer,

this is an absolute disgrace of a consultation, and completely

ignores women, not least by objectifying us by referring to

women as ‘surrogates’. When the law still discriminates

against children with unmarried parents in that if the father

isn’t named on the birth certificate that child has no legal

father. Fathers quite rightly have no rights over a woman’s

body including the foetus, and the courts cannot make a

woman’s foetus a ward of court, because it infringes on

women’s autonomy, yet surrogate parents will be given

advanced rights to a child they’ve bought.... Women are not

baby factories. Women are human and surrogacy is an act of

violence against women. Thank you for your brilliant

response – I shall have to write mine tomorrow.

S A KEENAN Women and children are not commodities to be bought and

sold.

S Elayan

S.L. Bondarchuk

Sabela Hernaez Sisto

Sabela Pérez Martín

Sadie Davidson

Sally Maslen

Sally Steyn

Samantha Haycock

Sandra

Sandra McNeill This consultation breaches consultation guidelines. It is

invalid.

Sandra Smith It is not anyone’s right to have a child, and women’s wombs

should not be available to rent.

Sanna Gabrielsson

Sara Ann irons

Sara bergareche

37

Name Comments

Sara Campo

Sara Dahlen

Sara Fernandez

Sara PRD

Sara Reid Child rights advocate and campaigner. Formerly Assistant

Commissioner, Office of the Children’s Commissioner for

Wales.

Sara White

Sara Williams Longley

Sarah Bailey

Sarah Braun

Sarah Cooksley

Sarah Dangar

Sarah Fawcett-Howitt Surrogacy is not ethical, no matter how you frame it! It is

100% exploitation!

Sarah Prentice

Sarah Seafire

Sarah Sharkey

Sarah Smith

Sarah Tamblyn

Sarah Unwin I am deeply concerned that UK would move away from

legislation which centres the needs of the child &

Safeguarding to one which is based on a US commercial

model. The consultation has been poorly designed &

publicised. There is a need for immediate scrutiny of the

process & lobby groups involved.

Sarah Wilcock

38

Name Comments

Sarah Wilson I don’t know any mothers who really understood the risks

and consequences of pregnancy when they embarked on it –

the toll it takes on your body, the lifelong damage it can

cause. Fully informed consent is not possible because no-one

talks about the many health issues that occur and, even when

they do, young women never believe it could happen to

them. For most of us, pregnancy and its after effects are

worthwhile because the payoff is your own child. As a

mother your life changes immeasurably and if an unexpected

consequence is also chronic pain, damaged spine,

incontinence, infertility at least we have our children to show

for it. The idea that a young, childless woman could be

encouraged or even coerced to put themselves through that

just for money - to have to carry a child and then give it up,

suffering the emotional and physical pain with nothing to

show... It’s unconscionable. Parenthood is not a right.

Children are not commodities to be bought and sold and

neither should women’s bodies be seen as vessels men can

pay to put their child in. Commercial surrogacy is not an

acceptable proposal in a society where women can and will

be exploited into it.

Sasha Rakoff Unbelievable !

Selina

Sezgin Ismail In one way or another, surrogacy is exploitative of the

woman who is expected to bear a child and then give the

child up to others

Shannon Shoemaker

Shari Davies

Sharon Allen

Sharon Campbell This consultation does not take into account the risks for

both mother and baby. It is very biased towards the rights of

the ‘potential parents’ ‘rather than the mother who is taking

all the risks. It is cumbersome and difficult for lay people to

complete

Sharon Jenkins

Sharon Owen

Sheena Best

Sheila Burton

Shereen Kalideen

Shernaz Dinshaw

Shonagh Glen

39

Name Comments

Sian Jones Wombs are not for sale or hire, women are not for sale.

Silvia Vives

Simon Aalders

Siobhan Murphy A marketplace should not be erected upon (largely poor,

vulnerable) women’s bodies involving the advertising & sale

of reproductive capacity, the ‘renting’ of wombs, the sale of

infants, & with scant regard to the health & wellbeing of

mothers & children alike. It is concerning that medical

authorities were not more involved in the consultation

particularly with regard to the health of women who undergo

multiple pregnancies plus the increased risks associated with

donor egg usage, implantation, c-section, etc.

What happens if something goes wrong? What happens if a

women changes her mind about surrogacy when the child is

born? What about her rights & the rights of a child to

familial origin &, genetic history?

Sofia Ceresuela

Sonia MB

Sonia Thorpe

Sonja Hartmann

Stasia Nield

Stella Foster

Stella Plinston The UK consultation completely ignores all of the health

implications for gestational mother, egg donor and child. It

also fails to address the psychological implications for the

child bought up with no material mother in existence.

Steph Benn Women’s bodies are not work places and babies are not

commodities

Stephanie McQuaid

Stephanie Winpenny

Stephen Jordan

StopSubrogacion

Suarayia Vives-Bertran

Sue Laughlin I do not think that the commodification of women’s bodies

for any reason is morally or legally acceptable

Sue Newte

40

Name Comments

Susan Austin Surrogacy is in essence an exploitative practise. The risks are

high because there is still the potential to die during

childbirth and the surrogate mother is more than likely to be

in a position of economic disadvantage.

Susan Green Commodifying the function of the uterus in a free market

economy is a retrograde step. It’s about exploiting women’s

bodies for the purpose of wealth extraction.

Susan Millership

Susan quatermass

Susana

Susana Villafranca Gonzalez

Susannah Oldham Stop exploiting/ commodifying and abusing girls and

women.

Susanne Bischoff

Suzie Petcher

T Kennedy, writer

Tania Ziegler

Tany Alexander I feel this needs to be re-thought to protect women.

Tanya Carter

Tanya Day

Teresa Avalos Torres

Teresa Baron

Teresa Brini

Teresa Domínguez We as women and our children, we deserve not to be

exploited, we deserve same human rights as men, please,

reconsider, and abolition is the only option.

Teresa Guirado

Teresa Hobday

Teresa izquierdo Fernández Las mujeres no somos ciudadanas de segunda categoria.

Acabemos con la violencia machista. Igualdad, Justicia,

Libertad

Teresa Orozco Köhler

Tess Freeman I have responded to the consultation and found the questions

leading and biased towards a pre-determined outcome of

introducing commercial surrogacy in the UK. I believe the

process of consultation has contravened the law and needs to

be thrown out and started from scratch headed by an

41

Name Comments

individual with relevant related expertise in the field of

human rights and/or surrogacy.

Tessa Katz

Tim Maslen

Tracey Haydon Women’s bodies should not be put up for sale or rent.

Tracey Smith

Tracy Mattison

Trina Budge

Trini

Trixie Malixie Women are not objects to be rented. This proposed law

change is inhumane and dystopian.

Valentina Bouzada Salias

Valerie JB Minerva

Vicente Eslava

Vicente J. Ibáñez-Valverde La procreación NO es un derecho. Toda forma de

subrogación vulnera los Derechos Humanos, tanto de los

hijos como de la gestantes, SUS AUTÉNTICAS MADRES.

Victoria

Victoria Díaz Auñón

Victoria Fernández

Victoria Frankland

Victoria Jones

Victoria Owen

Victoria Stevens This will become an option for desperate women.

Violeta Bernardo Vazquez

Virginia Gómez Román

Viv Gery

Vladimir Saktor

Yagmur

Yaiza Moreno García

Yemila Davalos Visa

Yolanda

Yolanda Martos Wensell

Yolanda Rodríguez Villegas

42

Name Comments

Yuly Straub

Yune

Yvonne Roberts