Surrogacy in Georgia to be allowed only for citizens, says PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said surrogacy would only be permitted for those with a citizen status, citing foreign nationals “turning this issue into a business” on the backdrop of a lack of regulation, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.az.

The Government Administration cited Garibashvili as noting limitations on surrogacy across different countries in Europe, with the Government head also noting alleged widespread online promotion of offers.

"[F]oreign citizens have turned this issue into a business, and in recent years, there is no regulation at all regarding this issue”, he said, adding legislative initiatives would prevent foreign nationals from “ordering” surrogacy services.

“I do not want to put it harshly, but there are orders made [for children]. This is also happening online, [where] there are too many advertisements, and we think it is very disturbing to leave this issue unregulated”, the PM added, claiming the promotions led to situations where the eventual fate of the children was “unknown”.

“There is information that same-sex couples may take the children born here, and there can be a lot of problems. Other difficulties were solved by our agency, the Ministry of Health. Therefore, this needs to be regulated”, Garibashvili said.

The Government has studied examples of both complete prohibition in Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, Garibashvili noted, adding legislators also looked at a “hybrid model” used in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said the Government initiative would also apply to in vitro fertilization.

“We are taking various measures in the country regarding the demographic problem. This [initiative] could be one of the opportunities [to improve the issue]. The draft law will be sent to the Parliament this week. We think it will be approved in the fall, and it will come into effect on January 1, 2024, and the problem will be solved once and for all”, Azarashvili said.