Hello again. I will allow myself to share with you something. At the beginning of the process of looking for surrogacy services in Ukraine, I found your agency and also one other. I wrote to both of you and after that I communicated only with you. Few days ago though I received an email from the other agency as well. I must say I am very disappointed of their way of acting. 

They have a site which talks about surrogacy in Ukraine and suddenly they wrote me there is too many legal problems in Ukraine, so that it is better to do the program in Russia. I am sorry to bother you with this problem but it concerns you as well and I just wanted to be clear. 

Here is what they wrote:

"As it happens, for now it might not be recommended to arrange your reproductive program in Ukraine. Due to legal obstacles, absence of regulations and existing restrictive law applying practice the situation around surrogacy in Ukraine has dramatically changed."

...

"Since the beginning of 2010 three “surrogate” children were detained when crossing the border, last known case (April 2010) being a boy born to a Belgian couple through a notorious Kharkov “agency” http://www.surrogacy.ru/eng/news/news5.php. A criminal investigation is underway."

I would be glad to receive your comment, dear Oleg!

Answer:

It is “normal” behavior of our competitors from Russia.

The have started recently to apply rather unfair competition methods, since more and more clients prefer to come to Ukraine, instead of Russia. The fact is that the surrogacy services in Ukraine are much more attractive, reliable and safe than in Russia.

The fact is that according to the Russian laws, the surrogate mother is still recognized as the actual (lawful) mother of the child and holds all the rights in respect of any child carried and born by her as a result of fulfillment of a surrogacy program.

Our surrogacy laws are much more liberal. Pursuant to our active laws, the surrogate mother is recognized as a woman who helps an infertile married couple to get their own child. Having no genetic relation to such a child, she can never be recognized as his/her lawful mother. Pursuant to our laws, genetic parents are recognized as the only lawful parents of their child born with the aid of surrogacy services.

Such an essential and basic legislative provision of Ukraine makes potential clients to draw more and more interest to surrogacy centers of Ukraine, which makes our Russian competitors feel rather uncomfortable and insecure. Hence, out of despair, they do not disdain to use any means, including the use of rather unfair and unworthy methods of competition, to blacken the high reputation and diminish the importance of our extensive practical experience.

We have established a standard procedure of placing enquiries like yours and our replies to them at our website in order to make this information public and easy-to-reach. 

You are welcome to refer to much more detail information to this effect: eng/surrogacy/surrogacy_questions.html

Question:

Thanks again for your quick response.
I have still some doubts and worries.

First of all, I am investigating this matter across internet for some time. Before spending an important sum of money I want to be sure of all the legal aspects.

In the website http://www.surrogacy-ok.com/news/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1283849197&archive= &start_from=&ucat=&, I could read that an american couple

, Jeanette Runyon and Michael Woolslayer, arranged for their gestational surrogacy program directly through Isida, the most known IVF clinic in Kyiv. After their “surrogate” daughter was born Mrs. Runyon was detained in Ukraine on the false accusation that she was implied in “baby-selling”. Though it wasn’t true and all papers were in perfect order, Mrs. Runyon was detained and beaten by Ukrainian police and her new born daughter Victoria was taken from her and put into custody of a Ukrainian couple.

Nevertheless, which more worries me in these moments is the follow news. Logically I wrote to several agencies who give services of surrogate mother. A russian agency, (Rosjurconsulting) has response to me today and they speak very badly about your agency, Vita Felice. They advise me to visit this website: http://www.surrogacy.ru/eng/news/news5.php. I have read things that make me very surprised. I want to clarify that I don't question your honesty, but you must understand that I need to check these kind of news. In any case I want to think that they make bad publicity of Vita Felice to attract clients to Russia.

This russian agency say that in what it goes of 2010 three "test tube babies" have been stopped in the Ukrainian border and they advise to me for contract the services of this russian agency.
But how many "test tube babies" haven't been stopped in the Ukranian border in 2010? These three "test tube babies", are punctual cases? Must I worry?

Simply I wish you deny me these problems, cause I prefer having my son of an ukrainian woman (they are more beautiful than the russian women, he he). I need to be sure that I will not have any problem to bring the baby to Spain.
Finally, I have a question: is it posible to choose the sex of the baby? In affirmative case, what aditional cost suppose?
Thanks again and excuse me for the long e-mail, but I need to insure of all legal aspects.
Best regards!

Dear client,

We are ready to give the official replies to your questions and settle your doubts, which you probably have started to accumulate as a result of purposeful action and display of unfair competition on the part of certain Russian organizations.

First of all, please be informed that the American couple had no relation to our Center. Their extraordinary situation, which resulted from the attempt to take their child out, could never occur at the La Vita Felice Center. The fact is that our system for servicing foreign clients, lawful registration of newborn children and organization of their travel back home is based on quite different legal principles.

As it can be seen in references http://24.ua/news/show/id/22750.htm, http://kiyany.obozrevatel.com/news/2008/3/19/42987.htm, “donor’s sperm and eggs were used in the Jeanette’s program.” Despite that this method of fertilization does not stand in contradiction to p. 1, Article 123 of the Family Code of Ukraine, it divests both parents of any genetic relation with their child.

Our Center would never service a married couple, if one of the parents could not assure genetic ties and undisputable genetic parenthood with a would-be child.

If at least one of the spouses were not ready, through any reason, to provide his/her genetic matter for the purposes of fertilization of eggs, we would be forced to deny our services to such clients without any exception. This requirement forms one of the fundamental principles of our work.

Apart from the Ukrainian child birth certificate made out and legalized in the proper manner with the names of genetic parents indicated therein, as provided for by the active laws of Ukraine, the complete set of additional legal documents, which prove the lawful right of the clients to be recognized as the legitimate parents of a child born as a result of fulfillment of the surrogacy program is prepared by the Legal Department of the La Vita Felice Center.

We have not found any formal evidence to support the fact that Jeanette was in possession of the full set of binding documentation. The only mention is made of the child birth certificate, which document is really not enough, unless not accompanied by other essential legal documents.

As regards the alleged “beating by Ukrainian police”, neither Ukrainian source of information bears out this statement. The only mention of this “fact” can be found in one of the personal websites of Mr. K.N. Svitnev, the General Director of “Rosjurconsulting”, which can only display an preconceived character of his opinions and relation to the development of surrogacy services in Ukraine in general.

Not a single proof was also found to his releases, which state that during 2010 three surrogate children were detained at Ukrainian border points. This information is not true and absolutely groundless.

We are aware of the only scandalous case where a Belgian father, having all appropriate legal documents but being under the influence of a criminal group made an attempt to bring his child illegally through the frontier point of Ukraine. It is quite natural that the child was detained and passed to an orphanage, while the inevitable legal action was brought against all the people involved in the “operation”.

It is still unclear why Mr. Svitnev decided to add two more children. Perhaps, the Jeanette’s child was meant by him? But the incident with Jeanette was in 2008, not in 2010.

Such an attitude on the part of the “Russian competitor” could be easily explained by the fact that the legal domain in Ukraine provides for much more favorable and legitimate conditions for surrogacy motherhood centers, while the relevant Russian laws set limits to the rights of genetic parents and make it possible for a surrogate mother to remain mother of a surrogate child. As a result, the surrogacy services become less attractive to potential clients.

Thus, for example, Article 51 of the Family Code of Russian Federation http://www.zakonrf.info/sk/51/ contains, in particular, the following provision:

“A married couple who gave their consent in writing that an embryo be implanted to other woman for the child carrying purpose can be registered as the parents of the child only with the permission of the woman (surrogate mother) who gave birth to any such child.” It appears from this provision that the surrogate mother is virtually recognized as the lawful mother of the child, holds all legal rights in respect of the child born by her and is entitled to keep the child in spite of the fact of having provided the paid services of a surrogate mother.

To continue the discussion of the above provision and all potential resulting consequences, let us make a reference to Article 52 http://www.zakonrf.info/sk/52/ 

“Any parental record made in the birth register pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 51 of this Code of Russian Federation may only be challenged according to the legal procedure on request of a person registered as the father or mother of the child, or any person who was virtually recognized as father or mother of the child, as well as the child upon attainment of his/her full age, guardian (tutor) of the child, or guardian of a parent who was recognized as legally incapable.” As we can see, the surrogate mother whose maternal rights are protected by the former article can apply to the court of law any time and challenge the parental rights of clients who were earlier recognized as the father and mother of the child and, hence, keep the child permanently.

Certainly, such a situation can hardly fail to alert any potential clients dreaming about their own child who would solely belong to them and lead them to make their choice in favor of more “liberal” Ukrainian laws about surrogacy, which would protect their parental rights in the maximum possible degree.