Stephen Page has been an eloquent and passionate advocate for reforming surrogacy law in Australia for over 10 years. He often speaks on the important issues involving the nation’s patchwork surrogacy laws. He highlights the plight of children born through international surrogacy arrangements, asserting that many face uncertain legal status due to the existing laws. Over 3,300 Australian children have been born through surrogacy arrangements with surrogates overseas. Page continues to call for immediate reform to protect these children and to provide the legal acknowledgment and guarantees their parents sought.
Despite the legal obstacles to surrogacy, Page maintains that women who are surrogates deserve payment for their labor of carrying a child for other people. An Australian national law, Commercial Surrogacy Act 2023, currently prohibits commercial surrogacy in every state and territory. This effectively prevents residents from being able to legally compensate surrogates abroad. Altruistic surrogacy, in contrast, is legal—though only expenses carried by the surrogate may be reimbursed. This gap puts tens of thousands of families in a perpetual bind, particularly when faced with the risks of legal limbo.
The Case of the Brisbane Couple
A recent case that saw a Queensland couple caught up in the complicated web of surrogacy law in Australia has seen this issue thrust into the spotlight. The couple moved to obtain a parenting order after the baby boy’s birth. He was born as a function of a commercial surrogacy contract abroad, and it would have cost them about $140k to a surrogate agency. Their request was refused, leaving them and their child in limbo without legal recognition as a family unit.
The consequences of such a decision are dire. Page explained that in the absence of a parenting order, the child is left figuratively in limbo. He stated, “Without this order being made … there is indeed a form of legal limbo for the child.” This lack of legal clarity can have dire consequences for the child. It poses essential questions about parental rights, medical consents, and the welfare of all.
The Queensland couple’s ordeal is not a unique case by any means. And Page acknowledged that Australian judges have referred couples to prosecutors in at least three other cases. As a result, this action makes it more difficult to end the overseas commercial surrogacy practice. He lambasted this practice, calling it, “a wink and a nod that makes a mockery of the law.”
The Impact of Surrogacy Laws on Families
The complexity of surrogacy law across Australia adds additional burdens on parents. These legal challenges impact the children born through these arrangements, too. Page makes the case that “hundreds” of Australian children do not know who their parents are because of these convoluted legal structures. He made a strong case that we owe it to these children to give them a legal parent. The default status quo has a single parent to make educational and medical decisions.
What the current laws do is ignore the full range of parties to surrogacy contracts. Page remarked on the disparity in compensation and recognition: “Everyone else is — the doctor, the lawyer, the embryologist, the nurses, the counsellor. Not the woman at the middle of it all taking the risk.” He further elaborated on the risks involved in surrogacy as he expressed skepticism about women’s willingness to act as surrogates without proper compensation: “The idea that a woman will take on the potential risk of death… I think is fanciful.”
Meanwhile, as families continue to wade through these murky legal waters, many experience extreme emotional and financial burdens. Page believes that existing state laws covering overseas surrogacy “cannot be enforced and therefore should be repealed,” advocating for a unified approach to address these pressing issues.
A Call for Reform
The movement to reform surrogacy laws has gained momentum in recent years. A federal inquiry is investigating Australia’s patchwork of surrogacy laws, which differ from state to state. Advocates such as Stephen Page have long been advocating for this important change. They want to safeguard children and prospective parents who enter surrogacy contracts.
The inquiry comes at a crucial time when many families are attempting to navigate the intricacies of surrogacy legislation while ensuring their children’s legal rights are upheld. As Page continues his advocacy work, he remains hopeful that reforms will soon provide clarity and security for families affected by these laws.
