Kiri

Your Ref: 19.04.2023 International Coalition for the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood Our Ref: 29.06.2023 No 7-2/2880 [email protected] Reply on the surrogacy issue Dear Ms Devillers, Ms Stoicea-Deram and Ms Garcia, The Ministry of Justice has received your letter regarding reproductive surrogacy and your wish to know our point of view on the issue. We will give a brief overview of laws in Estonia on the matter. Surrogacy is illegal in Estonia even though neither a surrogate mother nor a woman who wants to become a mother with the help of a surrogate can be punished according to Estonian law. According to the Penal Code § 132, transfer of a foreign ovum, or an embryo or foetus created therefrom to a woman whose intention to give away the child after birth is known is punishable by a pecuniary punishment. The same act, if committed by a legal person, is punishable by a pecuniary punishment as well. There are no current plans to make changes in the legislation to legalize surrogacy in Estonia. In order to prevent hidden surrogacy, our legislation on the matter of registration of birth also minimizes the risks – if a woman had birth outside a medical facility without any assistance or didn’t include emergency care, then in order to register the birth and establish parenthood, it must be done through court, where with the help of evidence (DNA test and other evidence) it is possible to establish the motherhood. It is to prevent situations where months or even years later a presumable mother comes to register a child and it is not possible to be sure that this woman actually did give birth to that child. When a woman gives birth, then the standard procedure is that the healthcare provider gives out a medical birth certificate that is necessary to register the birth of the child and get a personal identification code for the child. It is possible to give birth at home, but then it should be an assisted birth. Giving birth with the help of a certified healthcare worker who is allowed to assist on childbirth is allowed and regulated and, in that case, a medical birth certificate can be issued as well. For women and couples, who are not able to have a baby on their own, they have an option either, if medically possible, to get a child via artificial insemination or, if that is also impossible, then another option is to adopt a child. Adoption is regulated in the Family Law Act and the final decision of adoption is done by court. An adopted child will have the equal legal status as a biological child. The conditions and procedure for artificial insemination is regulated in the Artificial Insemination and Embryo Protection Act (AIEPA). This act regulates artificial insemination of a woman with the sperm of a man and transfer of embryos created in vitro as well as the protection of embryos created in vitro. According to AIEPA § 4 (1), only adult women of up to 50 years of age who have active legal capacity are, at their own request, permitted to undergo artificial insemination. No-one shall compel or persuade a woman to undergo artificial insemination and artificial insemination of a woman is permitted if it is justified by medical indications (§ 5 (1)). The rules are strict and regulated both from a medical point of view but as well from a filiation point of view, which is regulated in the AIEPA § 24 and in the Family Law Act § 83. Ministry of Justice/ Suur-Ameerika 1/ 10122 Tallinn / ESTONIA/ +372 620 8100 /fax +372 620 8109/ [email protected] / www.just.ee Reg.no 70000898 It is important to note, that some couples have used surrogacy options in countries where surrogacy is legal. That option, however, may result with legal issues related to establishing parenthood of the child in Estonia. In order to have parenthood recognized in the case of using surrogacy, the child must be adopted in another country or otherwise formalized as children of future parents, so that the person(s) who donated the cells can be considered the child's parent(s). The closest country to Estonia where surrogacy is legal is Russia, but in the end of 2022, Russia banned surrogacy for foreigners. Under the new law, surrogacy is still available to couples where one of the spouses is a Russian citizen. As a conclusion, we would like to once more emphasize that surrogacy is not allowed in Estonia and currently, we are not planning to make any changes in that principle. Yours sincerely, Kalle Laanet Minister of Justice Kristel Vaino +372 58634051 [email protected] Copy to Sotsiaalministeerium