Surrogacy in Georgia to be banned for foreigners

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said surrogacy would only be permitted for those with a citizen status, citing foreign nationals “turning this issue into a business” on the backdrop of a lack of regulation.

The government administration cited Garibashvili as noting limitations on surrogacy across different countries in Europe, with the government head also noting alleged widespread online promotion of offers. 

"Foreign citizens have turned this issue into a business, and in recent years, there is no regulation at all regarding this issue”, he said, adding legislative initiatives would prevent foreign nationals from “ordering” surrogacy services. 

"There are too many advertisements, and we think it is very disturbing to leave this issue unregulated”, the PM added, claiming the promotions led to situations where the eventual fate of the children was “unknown”.

The Government has studied examples of both complete prohibition in Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, Garibashvili noted, adding legislators also looked at a “hybrid model” used in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the UK.