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Introduction–

In legal terms, surrogacy is a practice where a female carries a male child, in the motive that the child would be raised by the concerned father and mother or handed over at the birth to the couple according to the desire of the baby’s mother. In the past year (2014), Germany’s supreme court had passed an order that the government of Germany must recognize the babies born by surrogacy in other countries as the legal offspring/child of the German intended/respective parents. The court had declared that German authorities must consider the decisions made by the foreign authorities related to the parental rights of German intended parents, even though surrogacy in Germany is not considered legal.

Laws Related To Surrogacy in Germany–

Surrogacy is prohibited by law in Germany. In the year 1990, the Embryo Protection Act was passed. According to this Act, there is a strict restriction of German reproductive medicine. The law prohibits the use of any medical procedure within the country, which consists of illegal action. The law permits that a female can give birth only to her child. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is allowed in Germany. According to the survey, 30% of the females in Germany get pregnant with in vitro fertilization (IVF) as surrogacy is prohibited in Germany by law, so to use surrogacy services, Germans travel to Ukraine. Surrogacy is free of charge in neighboring countries like Great Britain and the Netherlands. But in Ukraine, the surrogacy cost is much cheaper and affordable than any of the western countries. There is no proper availability of surrogacy clinics in Germany due to the laws of the country.

Cost of Surrogacy-

As surrogacy treatment in Germany is prohibited, the Germans travel to other countries to use the surrogacy services. The cost of surrogacy programs is affordable, and there is a high level of medical care and responsibility is taken properly in Ukraine. So mostly, the Germans travel to Ukraine as Ukraine is the cheapest country in infertility treatment by using assisted reproductive technologies. Because of affordable cost and the best medical services for surrogacy, the Germans mostly prefer to go to Ukraine. Ukraine became a centre for medical tourism, where partners come to become parents.

Conclusion–

As because of the law (The Embryo Protection Act, 1990), the Germans face the problem, as they cannot use the surrogacy services within the territory of their own country Germany. Such restrictions in the department of reproductive medicine forces Germans to go to other countries to solve their problems with infertility. They have to travel to other countries to use surrogacy services to become parents. In other countries like Ukraine, surrogacy is allowed by law, and egg donation is also allowed. Germans face problems in this field as they have strict laws related to surrogacy.