Surrogates could become legal in Portugal

Eurico Reis, CNPMA’s president, told “Correio de Manhã” newspaper that a surrogate could be used “in exceptional circumstances” – for example, when the woman in a couple has anomalies within her reproductive system that make having children impossible, or when her uterus is unviable due to an accident or trauma of some kind.

If the proposal is agreed by AR, “wombs for hire” would be legal in Portugal. Current legislation (Lei 32/ 2006) considers “null and void any type of procedure involving surrogate maternity”.

“By surrogate maternity this means any situation in which a woman supports a pregnancy of a third party, and then hands the child over after birth, renouncing all powers and duties assumed by maternity”, says the law.