Category: Jamaica

Jamaica, Surrogacy

Jamaica – Letter of the Day | Surrogacy should be legitimised

Intended Parents

Source Jamaica Gleaner

From as far back as 2014, there has been discourse in the local media surrounding surrogacy. Since then, publications have been sparse with latest being made in The Gleaner in 2019, which highlighted that Jamaican women are involved in surrogacy tourism.

Currently, there are no laws that regulate surrogacy in Jamaica and with that there is an increased likelihood of human rights abuses against surrogate mothers. There is also the issue of lack of legal protection for intended parents to ensure their full custody of the child/children after birth. It is, therefore, imperative that surrogacy be legitimised in Jamaica. The easiest way to facilitate this, I believe, would be through amendments to existing legislation, namely the Children (Guardianship and Custody) Act and the Children (Adoption of) Act.

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Infertility, Jamaica

Jamaica – Laws Of Eve | Legislation Is Urgently Needed To Deal With IVF

Intended Parents

Source The Gleaner

As the number of cases involving assisted reproductive technology continues to multiply across the world, and even as some of that same technology is being utilised with increased frequency in Jamaica, we still have no legislation that deals with any aspect of it.

In my legal practice, I have been consulted by clients who have trouble conceiving and are undergoing fertility treatment, including the harvesting and storage of eggs, sperm, and embryos, surrogacy agreements and artificial insemination. In all cases, I am asked to explain the legal position in Jamaica, which begins with the admission that it is uncertain.

Many of the questions surround the ultimate ownership of the embryos in the event the couple separates after undergoing treatment, the legal recourse that is available if the surrogate changes her mind and refuses to hand over the child after delivery, whether the surrogate can be paid and how to prevent a sperm donor from claiming paternal rights in relation to a child conceived through artificial insemination.

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