Ukraine is one of the world’s most popular surrogacy destinations. With the conflict raging, the fate of many surrogates and newborns hangs in the balance
The mayhem continues in Ukraine. Millions have fled the country and thousands continue to take refuge in underground bomb shelters in cities, as the Russian assault remains relentless. They can only hope to find an escape. There are aging men and women, children, pregnant women, among them many surrogates.
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Ukraine is one of the world’s most popular surrogacy destinations for foreign couples, second only to the United States, says Growing Families, a global non-profit in the field. Around 2,000 to 2,500 children are born through surrogacy in the country every year, according to a 2018 report in Al Jazeera. With at least 800 surrogates pregnant with the children of foreign nationals in Ukraine as of today, parents, who are in their homeland, and families of pregnant women are both leaving in fear.
Keeping the surrogates safe
What the future holds for these babies, as it rains bombs and bullets in Ukraine?
The tension has been mounting for months. As murmurs of a possible Russian invasion grew louder, parents in the United States, Canada, and other European nations started hitting the panic button sometime in late January. Delivering Dreams, a New Jersey-based surrogacy agency, had a contingency plan in place. It asked parents to keep cash ready and book flexible airline tickets. The passports of surrogates were ready with a plan to move them outside the country in case of an escalation, reports The Atlantic.
By mid-February, Delivering Dreams decided to start moving the surrogates to Lviv, a city in the west of Ukraine that has become a haven, amid the rising conflict.
BioTexCom, a leading fertility clinic in Kyiv, has built a bomb shelter to protect the surrogates. It is equipped with gas masks, medication, canned food, beds, cribs, diapers, and baby food reports Quartz. In a video posted on YouTube, BioTexCom shows the surrogates being ferried to safety, giving a sneak peek into the shelter, which can hold up to 200 people.
Stranded babies
According to Quartz, a few Irish couples are stranded in the war-hit nation. They have infants who are just born to surrogates or are expecting their babies soon.
For Irish couples, Ukraine is a popular destination for surrogacy. According to the Irish Families through Surrogacy, every year 30 to 40 couples visit Ukraine for this purpose.
Fourteen Irish families, who are due to have their babies between February and March, are now asking the Department of Foreign Affairs for help. Couples are in touch with surrogacy clinics in Ukraine to ensure their babies are safe. “They won’t be able to travel until there’s a ceasefire, a senator told The Irish Times.
Now Ireland has also announced that it would accommodate up to 400 surrogate mothers from Ukraine.
An Australian couple left for Ukraine just as the invasion began and their flight was diverted to Warsaw in Poland. After the baby was born, the birth mother left because of the conflict and returned to her family. The couple, who lead the UKRCOM surrogacy agency in Ukraine, drove to the Polish border for days with the baby. They are now staying in a city in Lviv, while the parents are dealing with the Australian embassy to get their paperwork in order, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
What next for parents who are not in Ukraine?
Growing Families has put out a handy guide for parents on its website. While flights are cancelled, road travel to Ukraine is possible. However, both parents must travel to complete the formalities.
In the latest round of talk which concluded on Thursday, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to create humanitarian corridors to help civilians exit fallen cities and provide aid. The soon-to-be parents are only hoping that surrogacy laws are relaxed and this could be the end of their ordeal.
Why Ukraine is a popular choice?
Demand for surrogacy surged in Ukraine since 2015. India, Thailand, and Nepal banned surrogacy for foreign couples after reports of widescale exploitation. That’s when attention turned to Ukraine, which is more affordable than the United States, where couples have to shell out more than $100,000 {Rs 75.9 lakh}. In the Eastern European nation, the cost varies from $30,000 {22.9 lakh} to $50,000 {Rs 38.09 lakh}, Quartz reports. Plus, the country allows the donors to be anonymous.
While surrogacy is easier on the pocket in Ukraine, there are some rules. The couple has to be straight, married, and have a medical reason to pick this option. The laws also mandate that both the spouses have to be physically present to be recognised as legal parents once the paperwork is complete.
Ireland, the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and China are among nations that have parents looking for surrogacy options in Ukraine.
However, exploitation is rampant and some clinics in the country have turned into “baby factories”. There have been cases of surrogates who have miscarried or had a stillborn birth, and have not been paid. Online forums are filled with comments that reveal problems with BioTexCom.
The hospitals that these surrogates are admitted to do not give them the attention they need. “There was no hot water, we washed with plastic bottles over the toilet with water that was preheated in a kettle,” a surrogate told Al Jazeera. “We were treated like cattle and mocked by doctors.”
Now with the conflict raging, the fate of many such mothers hangs in the balance.
With inputs from agencies
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