Surrogacy, Law and Human Rights

Surrogacy presents particularly complex questions for human rights law and theory. This book provides a unique and insightful examination into the underexplored issues of how domestic and international law is responding to the sharp increase in the use of surrogacy. The work presents critical analysis of the current regulation of surrogacy via domestic law in Australia, India and the USA, and international law in the form of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Including a wide range of views from academics and practitioners around the world, the contributors consider what could be done to further protect the rights of all persons involved in surrogacy arrangements. This in-depth study of the international and domestic law governing surrogacy provides much needed scholarly knowledge of this contemporary phenomenon, along with recommendations for improvement, regulation and reform. The book will be of great importance to human rights and legal scholars, and well as practitioners in this field.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword, Gillian Triggs; Surrogacy and human rights: contemporary, complex, contested and controversial, Katie O’Byrne and Paula Gerber; Surrogacy: a personal perspective, Anthony Wood; Theoretical approaches to human dignity, human rights and surrogacy, Kate Galloway; Through the looking-glass: a proposal for national reform of Australia’s surrogacy legislation, Tammy Johnson; Extra-territoriality and surrogacy: the problem of state and territory moral sovereignty, Anita Stuhmcke; Souls in the house of tomorrow: the rights of children born via surrogacy, Paula Gerber and Katie O’Byrne; The surrogate in commercial surrogacy: legal and ethical considerations, Sonia Allan; Recognition of parentage in surrogacy arrangements in Australia, Alexandra Harland and Cressida Limon; Surrogacy in India: strong demand, weak laws, Normann Witzleb and Anurag Chawla; Surrogacy: American style, Richard F. Storrow. Index.

About the Author :
Dr Paula Gerber is an Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at Monash University and Deputy Director of the esteemed Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. She is an internationally recognised expert in human rights law generally and children’s rights and LGBTIQ rights in particular. She is the author of numerous books, book chapters and articles in peer review journals. Katie O’Byrne is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, London, one of the largest and most wide-ranging civil liberties practices in the world. She previously practised as a solicitor before undertaking an associateship at the High Court of Australia and completing a Master of Law at the University of Cambridge. She has published articles in the areas of women’s rights and gender, children’s rights, refugee law and international humanitarian law.

Review :
'This book on the developing field of surrogacy law, across a number of jurisdictions, tackles an intricate and sensitive legal subject. It is one that has grown out of modern biological technology as it interacts with new social attitudes and values. This is a legal work. But, inevitably, the authors address the contested ethical positions that sometimes stand in the way of sensible law reform. The book is timely, well written and interesting. The authors are well qualified and engaged with their topic. This is cutting-edge law: at a new legal frontier where universal human rights law, conflicting religious and moral positions and powerful feelings of human love come together in vigorous dialogue.' The Hon Michael Kirby AC, CMG. Past Justice of the High Court of Australia 'This collection is a timely addition to the global debates on surrogacy, drawn from a uniquely Australian perspective. The wide range of views and recommendations for reform in Surrogacy, Law and Human Rights make it a very valuable contribution to the burgeoning academic "dissensus" on the role of law in responding to the challenges posed by domestic and transnational surrogacy.' Jenni Millbank, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia `This book on the developing field of surrogacy law, across a number of jurisdictions, tackles an intricate and sensitive legal subject. It is one that has grown out of modern biological technology as it interacts with new social attitudes and values. This is a legal work. But, inevitably, the authors address the contested ethical positions that sometimes stand in the way of sensible law reform. The book is timely, well written and interesting. The authors are well qualified and engaged with their topic. This is cutting-edge law: at a new legal frontier where universal human rights law, conflicting religious and moral positions and powerful feelings of human love come together in vigorous dialogue.’ The Hon Michael Kirby AC, CMG. Past Justice of the High Court of Australia `This collection is a timely addition to the global debates on surrogacy, drawn from a uniquely Australian perspective. The wide range of views and recommendations for reform in Surrogacy, Law and Human Rights make it a very valuable contribution to the burgeoning academic “dissensus” on the role of law in responding to the challenges posed by domestic and transnational surrogacy.’ Jenni Millbank, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia