Recently the law regarding children in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was amended. The new rule now allows people to opt for child birth through surrogacy, which was not an option in the country earlier.
According to legal experts, the amendment to the federal law has ushered in an ‘unprecedented change’, indicating a remarkable shift in the country’s approach towards reproductive technologies. Surrogacy is a process in which a woman agrees to give birth to and raise a child for a couple or an individual.
The amendments include expanding medically assisted reproductive techniques (IVF) to non-Muslim parties without a marriage certificate, allowing surrogacy, a UAE lawyer said. But what does this mean for couples in the UAE?
What do experts say?
According to experts, unmarried and non-Muslim couples can use the law after applying to the concerned regulators. They can now access any legal assisted conception and reproductive services within the country, including surrogacy.
Regulators will monitor each process. Such services will be subject to the regulation of each relevant regulator and provided that the eggs and sperm are taken from the respective couple. It is noteworthy that there is no new law specifically enabling surrogacy.
The text of the previous law prohibiting surrogacy has been removed. The new law leaves regulation of surrogacy up to each emirate. Experts say that the law applies to Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants.
However, under Article 8(2) of the new law, only non-Muslims can use the relevant services if they are unmarried upon applying to the relevant regulator. For couples where one or both partners are Muslim, marriage is a prerequisite to access services.
However, current law does not specify how surrogates will be selected and no specific criteria have been published.