New legislation ‘progressive’ step towards modernising Ireland’s reproductive rights

The Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Bill 2022 (200 pages / 1.7 MB) has been approved by the Oireachtas and introduces clear legal frameworks for both domestic and international surrogacy arrangements, where one parent has a genetic link to the child. It establishes rights and obligations for all parties involved, including surrogate mothers, intended parents from birth, and children born through surrogacy. 

Dorian Rees, an expert in corporate transactions in the fertility sector at Pinsent Masons, said: “The introduction of the AHR Bill represents a major shift in how Ireland handles assisted reproduction and surrogacy, providing much-needed clarity and security. Healthcare providers and legal professionals will need to familiarise themselves with the regulations to ensure compliance and to support families through the legal and medical processes involved in assisted reproduction.”

One of the changes is the legal recognition of intended parents from birth, eliminating the current necessity for a court order post-birth to establish parentage. Parents of children already born via surrogacy will now be able to apply to the High Court for parental orders which will secure their lifelong relationship with their children. 

The legislation will also regulate other, more common AHR treatments like in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). 

The legislation mandates the establishment of the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA). This new body will oversee all aspects of assisted reproduction, ensuring that practices comply with ethical standards and protect the welfare of all parties, particularly children. The AHRRA will regulate fertility clinics and monitor and implement rigorous statutory requirements for storing, researching and testing gametes and embryos. 

Any person providing AHR treatment in Ireland, or undertaking embryonic stem cell research, will require a licence granted by the AHRRA. The intending parent or parents and the surrogate mother must receive independent legal advice, support and counselling before they agree to a surrogacy arrangement, and the surrogate mother must give her consent after the birth of the child. 

Criteria for accessing assisted reproduction services in Ireland are clearly outlined in the Bill with aims to ensure equitable access to services, reflecting contemporary societal values and family structures. 

The legislation includes stipulations on who can act as a surrogate and the rights of both donors and recipients. It provides that two intending parents are not required, and a single person aged 21 or over may be an ‘intending parent’ and enter into a surrogacy agreement with a woman in Ireland or abroad. A woman may act as a surrogate only if, before entering the agreement, she has previously given birth to a child, she is 25 or over, and she has been assessed as suitable by a medical practitioner. 

The AHRRA will also administer the national donor-conceived person register and the national surrogacy register. These registers will allow donor-conceived individuals to access information about their genetic origins once they reach 18 years of age, balancing the rights of the donor with those of the child.