UAE Allows Surrogacy With Recent Legal Amendments

In a recent legal update, the UAE has introduced a groundbreaking amendment allowing individuals to choose surrogacy for childbirth, a previously unavailable option in the country.

This change in federal law reflects a significant shift in the UAE’s stance on reproductive techniques, according to legal experts.

Surrogacy is a process in which a woman agrees to carry and deliver a baby for a couple or an individual.

The UAE has achieved a significant milestone in its legal system with the passing of Federal Decree Law No. 17 of 2023, amending the Federal Decree Law No. 7 of 2019, which eliminates the ban on surrogacy and grants unmarried couples access to IVF treatments. This progressive step not only expands the choices available to individuals and families in shaping their lives but also paves the way for a more comprehensive and forward-thinking legal framework for gestational surrogacy.

The new Law establishes a framework for intra-governmental consultation and decision-making and permits restricted scientific research in the realm of fertility treatments. These modifications align with the UAE’s National Agenda 2021 and the UAE Centennial 2071 project, both of which strive to enhance the UAE‘s global standing. These changes are particularly significant as the UAE positions itself as a leading medical hub in the region.

James Clarke, Of Counsel at BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP explains the law, “Egg and sperm banks remain illegal. It is noteworthy that there is no new law specifically enabling surrogacy; the text of the prior law preventing surrogacy has simply been removed. The old law prohibited the practice of ‘external insemination between a sperm taken from the husband and an egg taken from the wife, then implanting the fertilised egg in the womb of another wife of the husband’. The new law leaves the regulation of surrogacy to each emirate.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF SURROGACY & ASSISTED REPRODUCTION LAWS IN THE UAE

In the UAE, specific laws and regulations govern surrogacy and assisted reproduction. In the UAE, surrogacy was only permitted for married couples who are unable to conceive naturally. The surrogate mother has to respond to certain criteria’s:

• must be a close relative of the couple
  the arrangement must be made through a licensed medical facility
  She should be medically and psychologically fit to carry a child

The revised laws now provide couples with significantly expanded and more flexible options compared to the previous regulations. However, the detail of how these changes will affect the options available in practice remains to be seen, as each emirate’s approach to regulation becomes established. Once the position is clear, couples will be able to review their options and begin making decisions.