Israel's Surrogacy Program
X surrogacy facilitates the process for families to have biological children through surrogacy. This arrangement involves a woman conceiving and delivering a baby for an individual or couple who then become the legal parents and raise the child as their own. Surrogacy allows infertile heterosexual couples and homosexual men to have biological children. In Israel, only gestational surrogacy is legal, where the surrogate carries a child that is not genetically related to her. The gestational surrogate relinquishes her legal rights to the child, and the intended parents become the child's sole legal guardians. The surrogacy process in Israel is strictly regulated, permitting only infertile heterosexual couples to use a surrogate mother. Surrogates must be unmarried women who already have a child of their own. The embryo can be created through the intended mother's egg and intended father's sperm via IVF. If the intended mother's eggs are not viable, an embryo can be created from a donated egg and the intended father's sperm. This embryo is then transferred to the gestational surrogate, who carries the fetus and delivers the baby. The surrogate cannot be biologically related to either intended parent. All parties involved must share the same religion to ensure the child's religious status is clear. The intended mother must demonstrate her infertility or that pregnancy would significantly impact her health. Surrogacy in Israel is not permitted for convenience or career purposes. In 2014, there may be significant changes to domestic surrogacy laws in Israel, potentially allowing singles and same-sex couples to participate, increasing the maximum ages of all parties involved, and permitting married women to act as surrogates. These reforms, proposed by the Mor Yosef Committee and supported by Health Minister Yael German, are a direct result of legal actions and advocacy by X surrogacy over the past decade.
The Israeli surrogacy law
The Israeli legislation on surrogacy was groundbreaking as it was the first in the world to explicitly permit the surrogacy process and involve the state in crucial stages. These stages include the signing of the contract, which requires confirmation from a statutory committee, and the delivery of the baby to its intended parents, which necessitates a parenting order from the court, subject to review by social services (Samama 2012). 7The Israeli law allows for the arrangement of a surrogate mother who offers her womb for rent. Given the sensitive nature of pregnancy and the involvement of a baby, the law includes provisions aimed at addressing potential issues, particularly concerning the surrogate, the baby, and the delivery to the intended parents. 8Following the establishment of the Israeli law, several other countries also enacted their own legislation on surrogacy. These countries include Greece (Hatzis 2010), Ukraine (Family Code of Ukraine 2003), Australia (Surrogacy Act 2010), the United States (Goldfarb et al. 2000; Jones and Cohen 1999; Gugucheva 2010), India (Gentleman 2008; Pande 2009), Finland (Söderström-Anttila et al. 2002), and others. Each country's laws are unique to its specific circumstances. For instance, in Finland, prior to September 1, 2007, fertility clinics were able to provide non-commercial IVF surrogacy due to a legislative gap. However, since 2007, IVF-assisted surrogacy, even for altruistic reasons, has been prohibited (Silvola 2007). 9Surrogacy also occurs in other European countries where there is no explicit law prohibiting it. These countries adopt different approaches regarding the status of intended parents, surrogates, enforcement of agreements, attribution of parental rights, permitted types of surrogacy, use of gametes (sperm cells, ova), embryos, and the right to revoke the agreement (Ben-Or and Vylon 2004).
The appointed guardians
According to the Ministry of Justice (1996, Chapter A, Section 1), legally recognized parents in Israel are a married man and woman or those in a marriage agreement. The study reveals that on average, these parents are in their "fertility age" range, which is between 36 to 39 years old, although there are instances where they are over 50 years old. Their socio-economic status surpasses that of the surrogates in terms of education (with over 50% being academics), profession, and location of residence. A small percentage of them have children from previous relationships (11%), and only a very few (1%) have had three children before resorting to surrogacy.
The dynamics between parents and surrogates
The relationship between parents and surrogates in Israel is typically one of strangers who have come together solely for the purpose of the surrogacy process. This study reveals that the process presented challenges in terms of the relationship between the two parties. There were common stages experienced by most participants, starting with a positive but somewhat superficial relationship that gradually deepened as the process progressed. In some cases, the relationship became warm and close, while in others, tension and distance increased. The period of fertility treatments and pregnancy was particularly tense, but it also allowed for a deeper connection between the parties, reaching its peak at the birth of the child. However, shortly after the birth, the reports of a warm relationship diminished, and in most cases, there was a sense of detachment, crisis, or simply a distant friendship. According to the respondents, the most challenging aspect of the relationship occurred during fertility treatments or when fertilization failed. Additionally, there were numerous difficulties within the parent-surrogate relationship during the pregnancy. Surrogates also described the period after the birth as difficult, as it marked the return to normalcy and the separation of the surrogate and parents. At this point, the surrogate had to face the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of the process, as well as navigate her children's response to the experience and their separation from the baby she had carried. It appears that there is currently no regulation or legal supervision in place for these extended and exceptionally challenging periods, as reported by the interviewees. Once the contract is signed, all parties embark on a lengthy and intricate process without any form of guidance, support, or oversight. The only interaction with authorities occurs briefly after the delivery, when the baby is formally transferred to its parents.