LEGITIMIZING SURROGACY IN ISRAEL

Recently the Israeli Parliament passed legislation regarding all aspec ts of assisted reproductive techniques, including surrogacy, The main points of this legislation are presented and discussed, The most impor tant aspects are: (i) a public committee authorizes and supervises eve ry single case; (ii) only full surrogacy is permitted; (iii) the agree ment is not commercial, reasonable expenses can be paid to the surroga te mother under the supervision of the Approving Committee; (iv) the s urrogate mother must be single or divorced; (v) under certain conditio ns the surrogate mother can withdraw from the agreement; (vi) the chil d is under the tutelage of a social worker, representing the state, fr om birth until the completion of the adoption procedure, The religious , social and legal status of surrogate pregnancies worldwide are discu ssed.