This is how EU countries regulate surrogacy

From Banned to Legal: How EU Countries Regulate Surrogacy

Unlike Germany, surrogacy is possible in some EU countries. But the regulations vary enormously. At the centre of the debate is "altruistic" surrogacy — a term that has itself drawn criticism.

While the German debate on surrogacy is once again in full swing, in some neighbouring countries it has long since led to concrete outcomes.

"After much deliberation, we finally found the wonderful Esther, who was willing to carry a child for us. And so our son Vigo was eventually born," says Duco.

Together with his partner Ron, he became a father in the Netherlands — thanks to surrogate Esther, who had come forward through a Facebook group: "Because my own family also consists of a woman and two children. And we were of course dependent on a sperm donation in order to become mothers ourselves," she explains on Dutch public broadcaster NOS. "I always had the desire to give something back, and this seemed to me the most wonderful way to do it."

In the Netherlands, "altruistic surrogacy" is permitted. However, it is a criminal offence to act as a professional or commercial intermediary between a surrogate and intended parents.

No comprehensive regulation in Belgium

In Belgium, meanwhile, surrogacy is currently not explicitly regulated by law — and is therefore not prohibited either. The only established fact is this: the woman who gives birth to the child is in principle considered the mother. The intended parents must resolve parenthood through legal channels after the birth.

In practice, this means clinics in Brussels, Ghent and Liège carry out the procedures — following extensive medical and psychological testing. In 2023, 57 children were born via surrogacy across the country.

"Enormous annual growth"

Overall, there is "no pan-European trend," observes Anika König, a sociologist at the Free University of Berlin. The regulations differ "very, very significantly."

But, she says on the ARD Europe podcast punktEU: "There are no truly reliable or representative figures. But all market analyses show very clearly that the surrogacy industry is growing massively. There is enormous annual growth, and this will continue into the future."

This is partly because more and more countries around the world have opened up to surrogacy in recent years: in Eastern Europe, alongside Ukraine, most recently Georgia and Kazakhstan as well. A number of Latin American states have also joined the trend, along with Kenya and Ghana in Africa in particular, König explains.

North-South divide in Europe

In Italy, surrogacy is now subject to particularly strict regulation: it is not only banned domestically, but since 2024 has also been a criminal offence when carried out abroad. Couples face fines of between 600,000 and one million euros as well as prison sentences of up to three years.

Spain has also banned surrogacy since 2006 and tightened the rules further a year ago. To register children born abroad, a biological connection must now be demonstrated, or an adoption must have already taken place.

In northern Europe, Denmark has the most far-reaching regulation: since 2025, the country has permitted altruistic surrogacy under certain conditions and is planning further liberalisation, including with regard to medical assistance.

In 2024, Ireland created clear regulations for the first time, permitting altruistic surrogacy — including for single individuals.

How altruistic is "altruistic" really?

In all countries, however, the challenge remains of giving real meaning to the term "altruistic," says expert König: "In most cases, it means that surrogacy should not be paid — as a distinction from commercial models."

However, everyone else involved profits from it — fertility doctors and agencies, for instance. It is therefore questionable, "when the surrogate mother — the only person bearing a medical risk — is expected not to be truly compensated for it."

This formally applies in the United Kingdom as well, although "expense allowances" there tend to be comparatively high. In many respects, the country appears to be setting an example in Europe: "A great deal of research has taken place in the United Kingdom," says König, "above all psychological research with surrogate mothers, with the families, and with the children born through surrogacy."

This now makes it possible to demonstrate extensively which regulations have which effects — including psychological ones — on all parties involved.