Justice Minister on Recent Changes to Rules on Surrogacy

Minister of Justice of Georgia Tea Tsulukiani has explaned the recent changes to the rules on surrogacy, as some members of society named the amendments discriminatory.

Tsulukiani clarified who is affected by the Minister's order for changes to the birth of a child through surrogacy.

In her words, the change does not concern in vitro fertilization, but the process of surrogacy. She noted that the changes are aimed at preventing the transnational crime of infant trafficking and claims that the changes should prevent fictitious couples from having a child in Georgia for criminal purposes.

Based on the amendments, a couple of foreign or mixed nationality who decides to have a child through surrogacy, with or without marriage, must be able to prove they have lived together for one year.

"We demand from September 1 that a foreign couple or a mixed couple who apply to the notary must have lived together for at least a year, with or without marriage, so that we have a couple who really want to have and raise a child, no matter if they have infertility problems or not. They have to have a child through surrogacy in order to raise that child, not to take it from Georgia and then violate his/her rights. Therefore, I urge everyone to refrain from spreading false information. All women, whether married or unmarried, who have planned artificial fertilization, can be at peace: the Minister of Justice has not set any new rules for them," Tsulukiani stressed. 

By Ana Dumbadze