Adam Frisby and his fiancé, Jamie Corbett have recently welcomed the birth of their daughter conceived via a surrogate based in the US. But why did they choose to travel internationally for a surrogate instead of simply remaining in the UK?
Adam Frisby, founder of fashion brand, Reasn, and former In The Style founder, and his fiancé Jamie Corbett have recently announced that they have welcomed their daughter via surrogate in Connecticut, America. They both recently gave an interview wherein they explained why it is they approached surrogacy in this way:
“In the US, it’s completely different. You join an agency, and it’s legally documented from day one… the process is just much easier”.
They explained that they had found significant difficulties relying on UK law and the UK process to have a child. These issues were so significant that at great cost they travelled to North America to find a more straightforward jurisdiction.
So what are the key differences between the UK surrogacy laws versus those in the US?
In the US, though it varies between states, the general starting point is that the intended parents can attain legal parentage at the outset of the baby’s life. The usual approach is that the parties provide an agreed petition to the court ensuring that the intended parents are those that will be named on the birth certificate. In addition to this, certain states allow for a pre-birth order which ensure that the intended parents will be registered as legal parents on birth.
By comparison, in the UK, the intended parents are required to apply for what is known as a Parental Order to become the legal parents of the child. In the meantime, the surrogate will be the child’s legal parent at birth and if the surrogate is married or in a civil partnership, their spouse or civil partner will be the child’s second parent at birth, unless they did not give their permission. An application for a Parental Order can only be made once the child is born and the surrogate can only give free consent to any such order six weeks after birth. Given it can take up to a year for these orders to be made, this leaves a period during which the Parental Order is being considered where the intended parents, often the carers for the child, cannot make decisions for them that are critical for their wellbeing.
In addition, as one of the intended parents must have a genetic link for the application to be made, some parents can find themselves having to apply for an adoption, creating further complexity.
In the summer, we learned that the government will not be taking forward the Law Commission’s proposed bill for surrogacy reform, meaning that those parents embarking on the surrogacy journey are likely to continue to explore options in international jurisdictions. Whilst some can afford more progressive jurisdictions like the US, where surrogacy law in a significant number of states is now sufficiently established to create a comparatively strong regime, many parents resort to less developed jurisdictions, putting the parents at significant risk given surrogacy is illegal in some countries. Equally, as surrogacy is often an option sought by LGBTQ+ individuals who wish to start a family, like Adam and Jamie, parents can inadvertently find themselves at the mercy of a system prejudiced against them simply for trying to return their child back home to the UK.
If you are seeking any assistance in relation to surrogacy or adoption, our family team would be happy to assist you.
