TO PROHIBIT OR PERMIT: WHAT IS THE (HUMAN) RIGHTS RESPONSE TO THE PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL SURROGACY?

The rapid expansion of international commercial surrogacy arrangements has created serious ethical and legal dilemmas with respect to the nationality and parentage of children conceived under such arrangements and the potential exploitation of surrogate mothers. This paper examines these dilemmas through the prism of international human rights law to assess whether a prohibitionist or permissive approach should be adopted with respect to this practice.