Medical advances have produced important progress in assisted reproduction, and law makers are struggling to keep up. One advance is the increasing use of surrogacy – where a person able to carry a fetus to term does so in order for someone else to be the parent of the resulting child – and the ability through in vitro fertilization for a surrogate to carry a baby who is not her biological relative.

The United Nations is currently considering how to address surrogacy. The process has profound implications for children born through surrogacy, but also for people who have acted or wish to act as surrogates, and those who seek to become parents through surrogacy. In formulating policy, the UN should carefully consider the rights of all of these stakeholders, Human Rights Watch and the International Women’s Health Coalition said in a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Sale of Children.

Surrogacy has given new hope to many people who wished to become parents but faced barriers, including LGBT people and people experiencing infertility. But surrogacy also raises complex legal and ethical issues. Read more via HRW