Georgia offers several essential advantages when it comes to surrogacy compared to the complex and challenging legislation in many other Western countries.
Programs are available for married or unmarried couples being in relationship at least one year prior of starting program. It means Georgia is best destination of heterosexual couples. Based regulations one of the parent should be biologically linked to the parents.
The fundamental regulations concerning surrogacy are derived from the Georgian Health Act, and in particular Sections 141, 143 and 144.
The accepted interpretation of Georgian law in terms of surrogacy is that it allows for “pregnancy surrogacy” in which the surrogate has no genetic connection to the child.
This means that she does not provide her own eggs for the fertilization process. Additionally, no legal obligation exists that requires the child to have a genetic link with both parents simultaneously
The following list briefly details the main legal issues of interest to you. We emphasize that Georgia’s laws are available to the public (in the original language) and are published on the official website of the Georgian Parliament and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
This is one of the most important aspects in the entire procedure. In a surrogacy proceeding in Georgia, the consent of the surrogate is not required for the process of registering the newborn/s as the couple’s child/ren. Parents are only required to present three key documents: a signed surrogacy agreement, a birth certificate issued by the hospital, and a confirmation of the transfer of the fetus to the surrogate uterus in the form of a certificate issued by the IVF center.
Georgian law stipulates that even if a child is born via a surrogacy procedure, the designated parents are the only ones who can be registered as the child’s parents. The surrogate cannot legally be registered as a parent. This also applies when the fetus transferred to the surrogate’s uterus was received from a sperm or egg donation.
Issuance of a birth certificate in Georgia is a simple procedure that does not require legal intervention from lawyers. Once the certificate has been issued, the parents are entitled to return home with the child. It is important to note that according to the procedure and law in Georgia, the birth certificate is issued 5 -16 working days and includes registering the couple on the certificate as the parents of the newborn. The birth certificate is identical to regular birth certificates. It does not indicate a surrogacy birth.
Section 143 of Georgian Law permits conducting IVF in a range of cases including for the treatment of infertility or to prevent the risk of transmission of a genetic disease by the father or mother. The only requirement is the consent of the couple to the procedure. Written consent is necessary for the growth and transfer of fertilized embryos into the surrogate mother’s uterus. This section of the law also states that the surrogate has no recognized right to parent the child, and all obligations and rights remain with the designated parents.
Section 144 of Georgian Law permits artificial insemination that uses female cells, male cells, or frozen embryos. Frozen embryos are preserved for a period of time which is determined by preset protocols and the couple’s decision.
