I am concerned that the regulation of surrogacy in Greece appears to
disproportionately focus on the protection and security of the commissioning parents, while lacking effective safeguards and due considerations to the rights of the surrogate mother, and the children born through surrogacy.
I also observe with concern the absence of monitoring, prevention,
prosecution, and punishment of unlawful behaviors, which have reportedly led to violations of the human rights of women who act as surrogate mothers, as well as their children, including girls in Greece. I am also concerned about the harmful human rights impacts stemming from the regulation of surrogacy in Greece, including the lack of oversight over private medical centers performing surrogacy procedures (although the Greek National Authority of Assisted Reproduction exists, no reports were found regarding its activity, and it has been evidenced to have encountered funding issues), risks to the ife and health of women, lack of or inadequate consideration of the child’s best interest, potential ties to human trafficking, and threats to women’s privacy. These violations and abuses, reported to be committed against surrogate mothers and children conceived through surrogacy within Greece’s jurisdiction, include violations of privacy through highly invasive medical treatments; economic violence; adverse effects on women’s physical and mental health; absence of adequate mechanisms for redress; and situations of trafficking involving women and children, including girls.
. . .
The rights of surrogate mothers appear to be severely and excessively restricted in what appears to be a derogation of their fundamental human rights. A prime example of this situation is the ex-ante model of surrogacy in Greek legislation, which denies the surrogate mother any right to contest parental rights if she changes her mind during pregnancy or post-birth. Conversely, the commissioning parents, even without a biological link to the child, can enforce the surrogacy agreement. Similarly, there are no safeguards to protect the bodily integrity and autonomy of surrogate mothers, such as preventing forced cesarean sections.
. . .
[T]he sale of children is expressly prohibited in article 35 of the CRC, which states that “State Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral, and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, sale and of traffic of children for any purpose in any form.” The Optional Protocol to the CRC defines the sale of children as “any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or group of persons to another for renumeration or any other consideration.”
Thank you. Both mother and child are commodities who are emotionally and materially exploited by this trade in human beings.