Research into surrogacy regulation in Canada by Kent Law School Specialist Associate Lecturer Dr Pamela White has been featured by media outlets in Ottawa and Toronto.
Dr White was interviewed by CBC News in Ottawa for a two-part article focussing on the boom in foreign families seeking Canadian surrogates to deliver their babies. The article highlights the need for rules that protect the children, the surrogates, the intended families and Canadian taxpayers.
Dr White, described in the article as ‘one of the only researchers examining international surrogacy in Canada’ urges the importance of striking a balance to ensure over-regulation doesn’t drive surrogates underground. Both parts of the article are available to read online:
- Part 1: Ottawa surrogate delivers 5th baby to foreign parents. Agencies see a surge in interest from foreign parents looking for Canadian surrogates
- Part 2: Murky regulation allows foreign parents to crowd out Canadian families looking for surrogacy. Taxpayers on the hook for some of the costs of Canadian surrogate mothers
In Toronto, the Globe and Mail has published an article written by Dr White, in collaboration with Professor Vanessa Gruben from the University of Ottawa Law School, on ‘Why surrogacy in Canada is a cause for concern‘.
As well as exploring why surrogacy is on the rise in Canada, the article calls upon the federal government to define the expenses for which a woman acting as a surrogate can seek reimbursement. Dr White and Professor Gruben also argue that family laws need to be updated to reflect the way in which surrogates are used, and that accurate data regarding surrogacy practices and outcomes should be gathered and made publicly available.
Dr White publishes widely on the subject of surrogacy regulation in Canada; her most recent book chapter ‘A less than perfect law’: The unfulfilled promise of Canada’s Assisted Human Reproduction Act was published in Revisiting the Regulation of Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Routledge, 2015).