Françoise Monéger
Françoise.moneger@justice.fr
Le 12 février 2009
Chers Collègues,
Ci-joint le questionnaire concernant La gestation pour autrui.
Je vous remercie de m’envoyer vos réponses par courrier électronique fin septembre 2009.
Très cordialement
Françoise Monéger
Dear Colleagues,
Please find joined the questionnaire on Maternity for another.
I would appreciate receiving your answers by e-mail for the end of September 2009.
With best regards,
Françoise Monéger
Questionnaire pour la gestation pour autrui
I. Est-ce que le droit de votre pays accepte la gestation pour autrui ?
II. Si la réponse est affirmative, pourriez-vous me préciser le régime juridique :
1° Est-ce que la gestation pour autrui est réalisée sous le contrôle d’un juge ?
2° Est-ce purement contractuel, contrat passé entre la mère porteuse et les parents ?
3° Quels sont les droits de la femme qui porte l’enfant ?
4° Quelle est la filiation de l’enfant :
Est-ce que cet enfant a une mère (celle qui l’a porté ou celle qui a passé le contrat avec
la mère porteuse) ou plusieurs mères (la femme qui a donné ses ovocytes, celle qui a porté
l’enfant, celle qui a passé le contrat ?)
Est-ce que l’enfant fait l’objet d’une adoption ?
5° Est-ce que la situation juridique est la même lorsque la mère qui porte l’enfant est
étrangère et que l’enfant naît à l’étranger ?
III. Si la réponse est négative, votre droit a-t-il prévu des sanctions spécifiques ?
1° Sanctions civiles ?
2° Sanctions pénales
IV. Est-ce que le droit de votre pays est en voie d’évolution ?
Quels sont les projets en cours ?
Maternity for another
I.
Does the Law of your country accept Maternity for another?
Norwegian law does not accept maternity for another. Act No. 7 of 8 April 1981 relating to
Children and Parents (The Children Act) section 2 second paragraph states that an agreement
to give birth to a child for another woman is not binding. The woman who gives birth to a
child is always recognised as the child’s legal mother (The Children Act section 2 first
paragraph). The only way to alter this legal status is by adoption. Donation of eggs from one
woman to another is not permitted in Norway. Act of 5 December 2003 No. 100 relating to
the application of biotechnology in human medicine, etc. (The Biotechnology Act) section 215 states that embryos may only be used for implantation into the woman from whom the
eggs were obtained.
II. If the answer is yes, what is the legal situation?
1° Is Maternity for another under the control of a judge?
2° Is it purely contractual?
3° What are the rights of the woman who carries the child?
4° What is the filiation of the baby?
Who is the mother?
Does the infant have one or several mothers?
Is he adopted?
5° Is the situation the same when the carrying mother is a foreign person, or when the
baby is born outside the Country?
III. If the answer is no, are they any sanctions?
1° Civil sanctions?
An agreement to give birth to a child for another is not binding. Thus such agreements
may not be brought to court in order to force the birthmother to give up her status as the
legal mother of the child. The maternity may only be changed by means of adoption.
2° Criminal sanctions?
There are no criminal sanctions towards agreements with a surrogate mother. However,
there are criminal provisions concerning kidnapping and child trafficking. It is also a
criminal offence to provide the national register authorities with false information.
IV. Is your Law about to change?
In which way?
On 28 March 2008, the Norwegian Government appointed a Commission to propose
amendments to the Children Act concerning establishment and change of paternity and
maternity. The commission gave their report on 16 March 2009.
The Commission proposes that the current statutory provision concerning maternity be
maintained so that the woman who gives birth to a child is the child’s legal mother.
The commission has considered which rules should apply in connection with
establishment of paternity, maternity and co-maternity for children born outside Norway
as a result of assisted fertilisation. The commission has found it unreasonable to adapt
Norwegian statutory provisions concerning parenthood in order to enable residents of
Norway more easily to make use of facilities available abroad that are not permitted in
Norway. The interests of the children brought into the world in this way should
nevertheless be safeguarded as well as possible, and the Commission therefore proposes
wider access to adoption of stepchildren.
The commission proposes to clarify in the form of an explicit statutory provision that
maternity may only be changed by means of adoption. Even if it is established by law that
transfer of maternity in other ways than by means of adoption is not recognised in
Norway, the Commission nevertheless proposes a limited exception for families who
move to Norway, where maternity was transferred by a means other than adoption before
the family became resident in Norway.