Sharon Keogan exposes surrogacy exploitation tied to Ukraine
Sharon Keogan spoke in the Dáil about information she obtained on exploitation and shortcomings in the new surrogacy legislation, saying 98 emergency travel certificates were issued for children born in Ukraine via surrogacy from January 2022 to today. She criticised the Government for failing to stop what she described as continued exploitation of vulnerable Ukrainian women and questioned the ethics of commercial surrogacy in wartime contexts.
Freedom of information findings
Keogan said she made repeated freedom of information requests to the Department of Foreign Affairs and learned that 98 emergency travel certificates have been issued to children born in Ukraine as a result of surrogacy arrangements from January 2022 until today.
Legal and legislative critique
She noted the new surrogacy legislation was signed into law last year and said Government assurances that the law would enforce ethical standards and curb exploitative commercial surrogacy have not been met, given the figures revealed by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ethical concerns for women in Ukraine
Keogan argued that surrogacy cases in war-torn, corrupt and impoverished countries can hardly be anything other than exploitation, and posed the image of women renting out rooms in desperation while bombs fall around them to underline her ethical concerns.
Allegation of a double standard
She pointed out that Ireland bans commercial surrogacy domestically to protect women, yet criticised the Government for allowing citizens to rely on surrogacy arrangements in other countries, calling the continuation of such practices unacceptable and outrageous.
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Leader, today I wish to speak about recent information which I received regarding exploitation and shortcomings of the new surrogacy legislation which was signed into law last year. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine I have been making repeated freedom of information requests to the Department of Foreign Affairs. After three years I fully learned that from January 2022 until today 98 emergency travel certificates have been issued to children born in Ukraine as a result of surrogacy arrangements. Members of the House, despite assurances from the Government that new legislation would enforce ethical standards and curb exploitative practices on commercial surrogacy, some of the most vulnerable Ukrainian women on earth are still being taken advantage of at the same rate as before. While we do not know the specifics, common sense dictates that surrogacy cases in war torn, corrupt and impoverished countries can hardly be anything other than exploitation. How can this be anything other than a case of women being forced to rent out their rooms in poor desperation as bombs are falling around them? That is if commercial surrogacy can ever be non-exploitative and unethical in the first place. We certainly do not think it is in Ireland, we ban commercial surrogacy in Ireland, we protect Irish women from being exploited and prevent people from exploiting them. But then we think it is fine for our people to rent the rooms of women in other countries, in war-savaged countries. It is beyond me how our Government can find this even remotely acceptable and allow this outrageous exploitation to continue. Thank you.
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