Cross-border surrogacy: Legal complexities and human rights concerns in global reproductive tourism`

Abstract

Cross-border surrogacy, commonly known as global reproductive tourism, is an intricate legal and ethical phenomenon that has emerged over the last few decades. It includes the case where intended parents go to other jurisdictions abroad where surrogacy legislation is either less restrictive or more economical. Nonetheless, there are important legal uncertainties surrounding this practice in terms of parental rights, citizenship of the child, and enforceability of cross-border surrogacy agreements. Moreover, as there is no standard international regulation, surrogate mothers, who, in most cases, have low economic backgrounds, are exposed to the danger of being exploited and their human rights being violated. Custodial, consent, and compensation disputes also complicate the practice further, putting both host and home countries in moral and legal dilemmas. This research will review and discuss these complex issues and how necessary it is to have international collaboration and human rights approaches to cover ethical, transparent, and fair surrogacy practices in the new reality of global reproductive tourism.