Russia moves to bar foreigners from using its surrogate mothers
- Paid surrogacy is legal in Russia but has been criticised for commercialising the birth of children
- Some 40,000 babies born to surrogate mothers had left the country to be raised by foreigners, lawmaker said
Russian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to bar foreigners from using the services of Russian surrogate mothers as Moscow’s relations with Western countries continue to sour over its war in Ukraine.
Paid surrogacy is legal in Russia but the practice has been criticised by religious groups for commercialising the birth of children.
One of the co-authors of the bill, which was passed nearly unanimously in its first reading, said such legislation was needed to keep children born in Russia out of harm’s way.
At the moment, said Vasily Piskaryov, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, “we cannot follow the fate of one single baby”.
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He told parliament: “We don’t know who their parents are, their so-called ‘mom’ and ‘dad’, and why they are purchasing a baby.”
Piskaryov said that some 40,000 babies born to surrogate mothers in Russia had left the country to be raised by foreigners.
“Why should we spend our funds on resolving the demographic problems of other countries?” he said, adding that babies born to surrogate mothers in Russia should automatically be given Russian citizenship “so we can follow their fate”.
The bill still needs to undergo two more readings, be reviewed by the upper house of parliament and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
Due to coronavirus restrictions in 2020, a number of babies born to surrogate mothers were stranded after Russia closed its borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Most foreign parents were from China and were unable to pick up their children because of the pandemic.
Surrogacy has been a lucrative business in Russia for many years, but some are calling for an end to the practice for foreigners.
In January 2020, eight Russians including several doctors and a mother were arrested and charged with human trafficking in the country’s first surrogacy probe.
Additional reporting South China Morning Post
