International Surrogacy Forum

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part VII - The Way Forward - General discussion, with Sir James Munby summing up the conference with some concluding remarks.Sir James Lawrence Munby is a retired English judge who was President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part II – The Tolerant Approach, with Colin Rogerson (Dawson Cornwell, London, UK) as commentator.Colin Rogerson is a Solicitor Advocate and Senior Associate at Dawson Cornwell. He has a background in children law but much of his practice is focussed on the law relating to surrogacy and parentage following assisted reproduction. His work in this specialist field has been recognised by both the Chambers UK Guide and the Legal 500, where he is described as "an unsung hero both domestically and internationally particularly in the area of surrogacy, parentage and assisted reproduction." He has represented intended parents, surrogates, and surrogate-born children in parental order proceedings before the Family Courts in England & Wales and has appeared in a number of reported decisions in this field. Colin is an active international member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Family Law, Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee and is the only lawyer from Europe on the ART Executive Council. He is also an ART Fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys and a member of the UK’s LGBT Family Law Institute.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part II – The Tolerant Approach, with Claire Fenton-Glynn (Cambridge, UK) giving the UK perspective.Claire is a University Lecturer and Fellow in Law at Jesus College, University of Cambridge. She specialises in human rights and the protection of children, in particular focusing on issues such as intercountry adoption, international surrogacy, and cross-border child protection, as well as children's rights under the European Court of Human Rights. At the core of this research is the interaction between international and regional human rights instruments and domestic law, and the way in which these frameworks can be used to implement children's rights. Her first book, "Children's Rights in Intercountry Adoption" was awarded the Inner Temple Book Prize for New Authors, as well as the Faculty of Law's Yorke Prize.Claire has worked as a consultant on issues concerning child protection, human rights, and rule of law with organisations such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Union, Save the Children and Avocats sans Frontières. She is the co-editor of ‘Eastern and Western Perspectives on Surrogacy’ which was published in 2019.’

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part IV – The Regulatory Approach, with Robynne Friedman (Robynne Friedman Attorneys, Johannesburg, South Africa) commentating and giving a personal perspective.Robynne Friedman is a surrogacy law specialist practitioner in the Republic of South Africa, practising for her own account. Robynne has assisted in excess of four hundred parents with the legal and procedural aspects of surrogacy in the RSA. She has been involved in leading surrogacy cases that have culminated in legal precedents in RSA. Robynne is a mother through surrogacy and through her personal experience has been able to assist her clients on a highly personal level. Robynne has founded a Non- Profit Organisation which offers support and advice to infertile persons and surrogate mothers on all aspects of surrogacy.Robynne has been involved in the first constitutional court case involving surrogacy in the RSA in an attempt to broaden the interpretation of the genetic link requirement of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Robynne has presented papers on the working practical aspects of surrogacy at local and international family law conferences. Robynne has spoken at Reproductive medicine conferences and embryologist meetings locally. Robynne has spoken extensively to the media on the subject of surrogacy in attempt to educate the population on surrogacy in an endeavour to remove cultural taboos surrounding the practice of surrogacy in the RSA.Robynne offers support and guidance to the Reproductive Medicine Clinics in RSA on the legalities of surrogacy and gamete donation.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part IV – The Regulatory Approach, with Julia Sloth-Nielsen (Western Cape, South Africa/Leiden, The Netherlands) giving the South African perspective.Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen holds a chair at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western cape, and a chair in children's rights in the developing world a the University of Leiden. She has published widely on various aspects of children's rights and family law, and contributed to law reform in many southern and eastern African countries.In South Africa, she was a member of the project committee of the South Africa Law Reform Commission that prepared the Children's Act 38 of 2005 and the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008. She has recently published on aspects of surrogacy in South Africa.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part V - The Reality - Empirical Research Findings, with Vasanti Jadva (Cambridge/UK) speaking on 'The psychological wellbeing of surrogates and their families'.Dr Vasanti Jadva’s BSc in Psychology was from City University, where she later worked as a Research Assistant at the Family and Child Psychology Research Centre on a project looking at families created using reproductive technologies. During this time she also conducted her PhD which examined sex differences in 12-24 month-old infants' preferences for colours, toys and shapes. She joined the Centre for Family Research in March 2006. She is currently a Senior Research Associate and an Affiliated Lecturer at the Department of Psychology and a member of the National Gamete Donation Trust’s advisory council.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part V - The Reality - Empirical Research Findings, with Lopamudra Goswami (Griffiths University/Australia) 'Understanding the perspectives of Indian surrogate mothers on surrogacy'.Lopamudra Goswami is an Indian research scholar currently pursuing her doctoral studies at Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Australia. Her research area over the last 4 years has been with Indian surrogate mothers in Gujarat. Her doctoral work is also an extension of the same and she is now working at building a community based mental health model for the surrogate mothers.Lopamudra has had extensive teaching experience at several masters programs in Bangalore, India prior to moving to Australia. She has field experience of being with the mothers, interacting with them and knowing them beyond the realms of being surrogates.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part V - The Reality - Empirical Research Findings, with Debra Wilson (Canterbury/New Zealand) speaking on 'The public perspective: empirical research into opinions on surrogacy in New Zealand'.Debra Wilson is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. She specialises in medical law, with a particular focus on issues of regulation where there is an overlap with commercial or contract law.Debra has been a Erskine Visiting Fellow at Oxford University (2012), a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University (2014), a Visiting Researcher at the Brocher Foundation in Geneva (2014), and an Erskine Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge (2016). She is currently the Principal Investigator of a project entitled 'Rethinking Surrogacy Laws', funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part I – The Prohibitive Approach, with a personal experience shared by the Mennesson family.The Mennesson family, whose surrogacy journey in the USA has resulted in a 19-year battle to secure the recognition of their family in France. In 2006, they created Association Clara, which now has over 2000 members. This association defends all children born through surrogacy and promotes legalization of Surrogacy in France.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part I – The Prohibitive Approach, with Caroline Mécary (Avocate aux barreaux de Paris et du Québec, Paris/France) as commentator.Caroline Mecary is an attorney, member of the Bar of Paris since 1991. In 1993, she established her own law firm devoted to all sorts of families’ rights.She was the first French attorney to defend homoparental families. In this field, she obtained some great success before both national and international courts such as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Hence, she allowed a lesbian to have the right to adopt (ECHR, 22 January 2008, E.B c/ France). She enabled children resulting for a surrogacy to have their birth certificate transcribed by the French registry office (ECHR, 21 July 2016, Foulon & Bouvet c/ France; ECHR, 19 July 2017, Laborie c/ France). She also obtained the right for a same-sex couple to enter in a civil partnership (ECHR, 7 November 2013, Vallianatos c/ Greece).

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part VI – The International Dimension, with Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography) speaking on 'The work of the UN on surrogacy'. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (the Netherlands), a lawyer by education, was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in May 2014. She is also President of the European Federation for Missing and Exploited Children (“Missing Children Europe”). Throughout her professional career, Maud has focussed on children’s human rights. In 1969, she joined the Council of Europe where she worked in different capacities in the human rights protection mechanism set up under the European Convention on Human Rights. In 1998, she was elected Deputy Registrar of the European Court of Human Rights. Between 2002 and 2012, she served as Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the first woman elected to this post. In that capacity she spearheaded three Council of Europe key Conventions, namely, the Convention on action against trafficking in human beings, the Convention on the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, and the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. In her capacity as UN Special Rapporteur she dedicated thematic reports to, inter alia, vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crises; sexual exploitation of children and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs); illegal adoptions, and commercial surrogacy and the sale of children. She intends to present her 2019 thematic report to the UN General Assembly on "Safeguards for the Protection of the Rights of the Child in the Context of Surrogacy Arrangements”.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part III – The Free Market Approach, with Steve Snyder (Steven H. Snyder & Associates, Minnesota, USA) acting as commentator.Steven H. Snyder, Esq. is the founding and principal partner of Steven H. Snyder & Associates, LLC, in Maple Grove, Minnesota. He is also the Director of the International Assisted Reproduction Center, LLC, a U.S. surrogacy and egg donation agency.Mr Snyder is a member of the American Bar Association and previous Chair of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee of the Family Law Section. Mr. Snyder is a frequent national and international speaker on assisted reproductive technology topics.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part III – The Free Market Approach, with Erika Fuchs sharing her personal experience.Erika Fuchs, PhD, MPH, is a former gestational carrier who delivered twins in the US in 2006. Professionally, she is an assistant professor in the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch. As a social and behavioral epidemiologist and expert in women's and children's health, she studies associations between maternal behaviors and perinatal and pediatric health outcomes. Erika led a study of gestational carriers to examine clinical and psychological screening experiences and pregnancy outcomes.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part III – The Free Market Approach, with Courtney G. Joslin (UC Davis School of Law).Courtney Joslin is a Professor of Law and Martin Luther King Jr. Research Scholar at UC Davis School of Law. Professor Joslin is a leading expert in the areas of family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus is on same-sex and unmarried couples. Professor Joslin served as the Reporter for the Uniform Parentage Act (2017). A product of the U.S. Uniform Law Commission, the UPA (2017) addresses the parentage of children born through surrogacy arrangements as well as the ability of children conceived through assisted reproduction to access information about their gamete providers.Professor Joslin's publications have appeared in the Boston University Law Review, the Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Law Review, the Harvard Law Review Forum, the Indiana Law Journal, the Iowa Law Review, the Southern California Law Review, the UCLA Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal Forum, among other sources. She is a co-author (with William N. Eskridge Jr. & Nan D. Hunter) of the textbook--Sexuality, Gender, and the Law. She is also co-author (with Shannon P. Minter & Catherine Sakimura) of a leading treatise--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family Law.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism. For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from the introduction, where Nick Hopkins, Law Commissioner, Law Commission of England and Wales gave a presentation on 'The Law Commission’s project on the reform of the law on surrogacy'.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism. For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part VII - The Way Forward - General discussion, with Dame Lucy Morgan Theis DBE (High Court of England and Wales).The former chair of the Family Law Bar Association, Mrs Justice Lucy Theis, was appointed to be a High Court Judge in 2010.Mrs Justice Theis DBE, was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1982 and took Silk in 2003. She was appointed a Recorder in 2000 and was approved to sit as a deputy High Court Judge. She was head of Field Court Chambers until 2010.She was appointed a Family Division Liaison Judge on the South Eastern Circuit in 2011 with responsibility for Kent, Surrey and Sussex and in 2017 for London and Thames Valley. In 2018 she was appointed Senior Family Liaison Judge. She sits on the Family Procedure Rules Committee and the Family Justice Council and is the lead judge in relation to applications under the HFEA 2008.

This conference, organised by Cambridge Family Law together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants will discuss the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism.For more information about the conference see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/research-and-eventspast-events/international-surrogacy-forum-2019This recording is from Part VII - The Way Forward - General discussion, with Sital Kalantry (Cornell Law School).Sital Kalantry is a Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the International Human Rights Policy Advocacy Clinic, and Co-Director of the Migration and Human Rights Program at Cornell Law School. She is an expert in international human rights and her scholarship focuses on gender and education rights, particularly within the context of India and the United States. In her book, Women’s Human Rights and Migration, she uses empirical, comparative, and critical race studies approaches to critique the legislative process and mainstream discourse regarding sex-selective abortion bans in the United States.Her writings have been published in top peer-reviewed and American and international journals, including the Human Rights Quarterly, the National Law Journal, and the Stanford Journal of International Law, and the Nordic Journal of Human Rights.Kalantry has been invited to deliver numerous talks and presentations around the world. She has received many awards and grants for her work, including a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar grant to conduct research in India on the Indian Supreme Court and helping to secure a $1.5 million dollar grant to establish a center focused on women and justice.She serves as a peer-reviewer for several human rights journals and is on the editorial board of the Jindal Global Law Review and the Maharashtra National University Law Review. Kalantry is a member of the lawyers advisory committee of Peace Brigades International and served on the International Human Rights Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She is fluent in Hindi and conversant in Spanish.