Family and Fertility lawyer Erin Lepine has written an article for the latest issue of Law Times, called “Stop the commercialization of surrogacy”.
The article discusses the push by Anthony Housefather, chair of the House of Commons justice committee, to decriminalize payment in surrogacy, egg donation and sperm donation arrangements in Canada. Under the current law, it is illegal to pay a woman who acts as a surrogate for anything other than reimbursement for expenses (such as for maternity clothing or travel costs).
Erin argues that the commercialization of surrogacy would violate a number of core Canadian values, including: prohibiting trade in the human body, the health and well-being of women, protecting women and children from exploitation, and protecting children from being treated as commodities.
In the article, Erin states: “We should be actively working to protect these Canadian values while balancing the rights of all vulnerable groups whose lives may be impacted by surrogacy, egg donation and sperm donation in Canada.”
You can read the full article here.
Erin is head of Nelligan O’Brien Payne’s Fertility Law team. For more information about surrogacy, or any other family law issue, contact our Family Law Group.
