Planning Surrogacy in Canada? Read this Before Progressing!

Planning Surrogacy in Canada? Read this Before Progressing!

Since countries like Thailand, India, and Nepal have put limits on surrogacy, Canada has been a heavily debated and advertised location for international surrogacy agreements. Most of the intended parents are informed that it is significantly less expensive than beginning a surrogacy agreement in the United States while maintaining the same security, expert service, and surrogate availability.

Still, as you put your first step towards surrogacy in Canada, you must do your research and analysis while keeping the below points in considerations.

What Surrogacy laws in Canada says?

The Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004 (AHRA), a national piece of legislation that went into effect on April 22, 2004, gave Canada surrogacy laws.

These regulations aim to limit specific surrogacy arrangements, including compensated surrogacy in Canada.

Moreover, these laws are always changing and have seen a great deal of modification recently. The Canadian Supreme Court found some AHRA sections to be unconstitutional, and as a result, many of them have now been abolished (see, for instance, Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act (2010)).

Additionally, AHRA makes reference to the Act's rules, which give more specifics regarding the various statutory requirements. These do not (yet) exist, hence it is

unclear how surrogacy is regarded in Canada. What is known is that paid surrogacy is currently officially prohibited in Canada and is criminalized there. It is also unlawful to pay any surrogacy agency in Canada to identify or pair prospective intending parents with a surrogate.

The final point is more important and distinguishes between compensated and altruistic surrogacy. In accordance with AHRA, it is unlawful for anyone to: "pay consideration to a female person to be a surrogate mother, offer to pay such consideration or advertise that it will be paid" (s.6(1)); "accept consideration for arranging for the services of a surrogate mother, offer to make such an arrangement for consideration or advertise the arranging of such services"; or "pay consideration to another person to arrange for the services of a surrogate mother, offer to pay such consideration."

Can surrogate mothers be compensated in Canada?

Although surrogates are frequently reimbursed for their expenditures by Canadian organizations, this does not appear to be reflected in the statute. The AHRA's Section 12 (which addresses surrogacy cost in Canada) is not yet in effect.

Furthermore, the language seems to imply that a surrogate cannot be compensated given the absence of any additional regulations at this time: "No person shall, except in accordance with the regulations, reimburse a surrogate mother for an expense incurred by her in relation to her surrogacy" (s.12(1)(c)).

For donors, the situation is similar (ss.7 and 12).

In any case, it appears based on experience that surrogacy agency in Canada may have a broad definition of "expenses" and include charges that are unrelated to the surrogacy arrangement (such as housing costs), which can shot up the surrogacy cost in Canada.

Other key elements related to surrogacy cost in Canada Additionally, it appears that donors and surrogates may be getting lump sum payments without regard to the real costs and receipts required by the AHRA. The sum over and above expenses is therefore by definition remuneration.

If this happens, the agency and/or the intended parents could face legal repercussions (s.60). In fact, investigations and legal actions have previously been conducted against Canadian surrogacy organizations that were thought to be breaking the law. That said, there may be more surrogates accessible in Canada than in other fully "altruistic" countries like the UK and some Australian states due to this "flexibility" in the reimbursement process.

Final words Finally, the price of healthcare at Canadian fertility clinics that facilitate these arrangements is comparable to the price of medical care at many fertility clinics in the United States. Therefore, it is unclear how Canadian surrogacy is less expensive than American surrogacy, so prospective parents should exercise caution and carefully confirm all costs and expenses they should anticipate to pay up front before entering into such an arrangement.