Several facilities have been opening in Ukraine to meet the burgeoning demand for surrogacy and other medical services. The number of surrogacy births in Ukraine could rise by as much as 40 percent this year, – according to Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty.

Ukraine is an increasingly popular destination for Western couples seeking to have children through surrogacy, because of low tariffs and relatively lenient legislation.

But cases of foreigners having legal problems while trying to get their babies out of the country are present. Sometimes couples are even trying to resort to desperate measures, like one French couple, for example, were attempting to smuggle twin daughters, born to a surrogate mother, out of Ukraine.

This happened after the French embassy in Kyiv refused to grant the newborns citizenship and travel documents.

Last month, a Ukrainian court fined Le Roch and his father almost $2,000 each for the smuggling attempt. Patrice Le Roch and his wife Aurelia are now stranded in Ukraine, waiting for French authorities to rule on their daughters’ status.

Seems, the Le Rochs’ case is not an isolated incident. Ukraine has emerged in recent years as a popular destination for couples seeking to have children through a surrogate mother.

But there is no comprehensive international legislation on the matter, as surrogacy is a relatively new phenomenon in Ukraine. Western men and women coming to the former Soviet country in search of cheap and speedy surrogacy procedures, but incidences of couples stuck in limbo in Ukraine, unable to return home with their children, are also on the rise.

While Ukraine recognizes the couples who hire surrogates as the only lawful parents, France, for instance, bans surrogacy altogether.

The website of the French embassy in Kyiv strongly warns its citizens against the practice, saying those who flout the ban expose themselves to “serious judicial and administrative problems” including possible criminal sanction.

According Serhiy Antonov, who is the head of Medical Law Center, a Kyiv-based company providing legal assistance to people interested in surrogacy and other medical services, officially there were roughly 120 successful surrogate pregnancies in Ukraine last year, many of them resulting in multiple births.

He estimates that the real figure, however, is about 30 percent higher since private surrogacy agencies are not required to report their data to authorities.

Antonov says the number of surrogacy births has been increasing by a staggering 20 percent a year, and could rise by up to 40 percent this year due to the opening of several large clinics.

Among the few countries that offer commercial surrogacy, Ukraine is one of the cheapest, along with India. Having a child through a surrogate in Ukraine costs between $30,000 and $45,000 for foreign parents (slightly less for Ukrainians), and $10,000 to $15,000 going to the surrogate mother.

In the United States, where surrogacy is authorized in several states, prospective parents can expect to pay between $80,000 and $120,000.

But the surrogacy procedure in Ukraine is not without risks, both for parents and surrogates.

While trying to save costs, people are looking for surrogates or sterile couples through the Internet, and in this case you cannot be sure about anything. Officially, agencies are required to contact foreign embassies and resolve all legal issues before the surrogacy procedures can go ahead, – something Le Roch says the agency he hired failed to do.

Source: www.rferl.org

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