Society

WA Surrogacy Bill Raises Serious Concerns

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has raised serious concerns about the surrogacy bill introduced into the WA Upper House today, saying it is not in the best interests of children.

ACL West Australian Director Michelle Pearse urged parliamentarians to reject the bill or at least make significant amendments to it.

“ACL has spoken to a number of politicians who are rightly concerned about the implications of surrogacy, especially concerning the welfare of the child,” Mrs Pearse said.

“These concerns include potential legal challenges over the ‘ownership’ of the child; the child having up to five parents including genetic parents, arranged parents, and the birth mother; and the deliberate legislative decision to make a child fatherless in the case of a single woman becoming the arranged parent.

“In the worst case scenario, under the current bill, a woman can become a surrogate mother for a stranger using donated sperm and egg. In this scenario, a child is born from the surrogate mother, then given to the arranged mother and will grow up without a father and may never know who their biological parents are. This is a sad scenario for the child.

“While we sympathise with the deep pain felt by childless couples, we believe on balance that it is wrong to create a situation where numerous adults could have a biological stake in a child.”

Mrs Pearse said that, while ACL believes that surrogate arrangements are not in the best interests of the child, if surrogacy is to be legalised then it should only occur within a committed relationship between a man and a woman and only when there is a genetic link between the arranged parents and the child.

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