17 hours ago
Debate grows over Australia's surrogacy laws as couples go overseas to find a baby
For Daniel and Michael Montgomery-Morgan, becoming parents wasn't easy.
It took four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring their daughter Spencer into the world.
"We really questioned whether we're meant to be parents. It's not a quick process," Daniel said.
Spencer, now seven months old, was born via a surrogate in Canada.
"We didn't expect it would take us four years to have Spencer in our arms. [There were] lots of different things that we needed to do to accommodate the financial aspect of it."
After initially looking in Australia, the couple had to go abroad to find their surrogate.
"Unfortunately, we had three failed transfers, so we had to start again after two years of trying to have a baby," Michael said.
He said there were multiple times when they wished their surrogate was in Australia.
"When you're going through such an emotional journey … it's human nature to want to connect," Michael said.
"That was a challenge for us and that's what was missing with us not being able to do this like we wanted to in Australia."
For Bendigo couple Josh Paredes and Michael Vallejos, their one-year-old surrogate baby Elijah Miguel Parades-Vallejos was a miracle.
"Elijah is the love of our life. He is the blessing from above. We are very thankful," Mr Vallejos said.
Some of the Filipino couple's gratitude is for close friend Helyn Joy Lagman, who offered to carry their baby after one round of IVF.
"We initially thought she was joking, so we ignored it. It took her three offers, then we thought, oh, she is actually serious," Mr Vallejos said.
Ms Lagman already had two children of her own and said surrogacy was something she had always wanted to do and had offered to others.
"I really wanted to bring something good to the world," she said.
A growing number of Australian couples are going overseas to find a surrogate.
According to the Australia and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database, 131 surrogacy babies were born in Australia and New Zealand in 2022.
People working in the sector say the number could be higher.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, 361 children born through international surrogacy arrangements acquired Australian citizenship in 2023-24, up from 222 in 2021-22.
In Australia, commercial surrogacy — when a surrogate is paid — is illegal.
Every state and territory has different laws relating to surrogacy but they all allow altruistic surrogacy, which means the surrogate's expenses are covered but no other profit or payment is made.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, the United States is the most popular country for Australian couples to source surrogates, followed by Georgia, Canada, Colombia, Ukraine and Mexico.
The Australian Law Review Commission is reviewing the nation's surrogacy laws and will consider how to reduce barriers to domestic altruistic surrogacy arrangements in Australia.
Surrogacy lawyer Sarah Jefford believes commercial surrogacy should be allowed in Australia.
"Everyone else is paid, including the lawyers, the counsellors and the clinicians," she said.
Ms Jefford, who has been a surrogate, wants Australia's "patchwork" surrogacy laws managed under federal legislation.
"I think uniform laws are crucial for making it more accessible but also making sure we don't have medical tourism within our own country," she said.
However, some researchers and legal groups believe commercial surrogacy is unethical.
Margaret Somerville, a professor of bioethics and law at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, has researched surrogacy for decades.
She said allowing commercial surrogacy in Australia would inevitably lead to exploitation.
"The women who become a surrogate, they'll do it because they need the money," she said.
In 2023, at a surrogacy clinic in Greece used by Australians, police arrested senior staff on charges of human trafficking, falsifying records and mistreating hundreds of women who had agreed to act as surrogates.
Ten years earlier, commercial surrogacy laws in India were reversed after the discovery of so-called baby farms where 100 women were housed together for the duration of their pregnancies.
A snap ban on commercial surrogacy was announced in Cambodia in 2016, resulting in the arrest of Australian nurse Tammy Davis-Charles and two Khmer associates.
Ms Somerville acknowledges growing demand for surrogates, but fears introducing commercial surrogacy to Australia would put vulnerable women and children at further risk.
"It's like slavery," she said.
The Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) review is considering issues like the complexity of surrogacy arrangements, inconsistencies in legislation and barriers to accessing surrogacy and gaining Australian citizenship for babies born abroad.
This month, Queensland police confirmed they would not lay charges against a Brisbane couple who entered a $140,000 commercial surrogacy arrangement with an overseas company.
Inquiries into the regulation and legislation of international and domestic surrogacy arrangements, including a 2016 House of Representatives standing committee, recommended commercial surrogacy remain illegal.
New South Wales and South Australian reviews in 2018 also supported continued prohibition.
The ALRC is taking submissions for its review of surrogacy laws until mid-July.
The Montgomery-Morgans would love to see surrogacy become more accessible in Australia so more couples can become parents.
"I think commercial surrogacy does have a place, with the right governance and controls," Daniel said.
But they would want safeguards to prevent exploitation.
"I would hate to see people exploited," he said.
"There is a real risk of that."
