Russian lawmakers consider banning use of surrogate mothers by single men

© RIA Novosti, Anatoly Garanin

14:29 04/02/2014

MOSCOW, February 4 (RAPSI) – Russian lawmakers are working on a set of amendments that would effectively ban single men from using the services of surrogate mothers, governmental daily Rossiskaya Gazeta reports on Tuesday.

The amendments will include for instance, a provision which would prohibit manipulation of the resulting child’s gender, with the rare exception for gender-based genetic deficiencies.

The proposed legislation would also ban the use of surrogate motherhood techniques by single men. Only heterosexual couples (married and unmarried) would be allowed to use surrogate mothers.

The lawmakers explained that the use of a surrogate by a man may be attributed to the desire to fulfill his reproduction rights, and not to combat female fertility, which is unacceptable.

Lawmakers also doubt the sincerity of a single fertile man to use the technique, in cases when he wouldn’t be related to the resulting child in any possible way.

In 2013, the controversial socially conservative lawmaker Yelena Mizulina, who chairs the State Duma committee on family, women and children affairs, proposed a ban on surrogacy in Russia.

However, a survey conducted in December 2013 by the state pollster VTsIOM, showed that 76% of the respondents supported surrogate motherhood and 19% were opposed. A similar survey conducted by the independent Levada Center in November 2013 found that 50 percent of Russians believed surrogate motherhood was acceptable, 34 percent did not and 16 percent were unable to decide.