A Tory MP has called for surrogacy to be banned, controversially comparing the practice to taking a puppy from its mother.
In a series of candid comments, Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, branded surrogacy as ‘just not ethically acceptable’ and declared: ‘You have no right to become a parent.’
‘You cannot take a puppy from its mother before it is weaned in this country. That’s not allowed,” she added.
The 41-year-old – a devout Christian described as a Tory party “darling” – is the co-chairman of the New Conservatives, an influential group of backbenchers.
Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, is a devout Christian who has been described as a ‘darling’ of the Tory Party
Ms Cates branded surrogacy as ‘ethically not acceptable’ and stated: ‘You have no right to become a parent.’ In the photo Miriam Cates with her husband Dave
Speaking to The House magazine, Ms Cates also described the Government’s introduction of no-fault divorce in 2022 as ‘the wrong decision’ and warned that IVF fertility treatments ‘cannot solve’ Britain’s falling birth rate.
Surrogacy is the carrying and birth of a child by one woman for someone else.
The intended parents can be heterosexual couples who cannot have children, same-sex couples or single parents.
Britain remains one of the few countries where surrogacy is legal.
The number of parents having a child using a surrogate mother in England and Wales has almost quadrupled in the past decade.
Parental decisions, which transfer the legal parentage of the surrogate mother, have increased from 117 in 2011 to 449 in 2022.
Ms Cates, a mother of three and former biology teacher, expressed her opposition to the practice, saying: ‘You have to look at it from the baby’s point of view.
‘Of course adults have a strong desire to be parents, both men and women. Of course it’s sad if that doesn’t work out for whatever reason – they can’t get pregnant, they don’t have a partner, whatever it is.
“But I do not find it ethically acceptable to deliberately bring a child into the world to separate it from its mother at birth.”
When asked if she believes surrogacy should be banned, she replied “Yes, I do,” but added: “Given the (low) numbers presented here, I don’t think it will ever be a major problem will be for Parliament to tighten the rules. law, but I hope we can resist decriminalization.”
Last night Alan White, chairman of the support group Surrogacy UK, expressed his dismay at her comments.
Mr White and his husband Nic have a 15-month-old son, Jago, born through a surrogate mother.
Last night Alan White (pictured), chairman of the support group Surrogacy UK, expressed his dismay at her comments
“We are always saddened and disappointed to hear these types of opinions, which generally come from people who have not spoken to surrogate mothers, to intended parents, to people born through surrogacy,” he said. ‘Any comparison between women and children and dogs is unfortunate.
“Surrogates don’t see themselves as mothers, they see themselves as extreme babysitters who take care of someone’s baby and do something amazing: having children that women or gay men can’t do for themselves.”
Student Hannah Veness, 21, born to a surrogate mother because her parents could not have children, said Ms Cates’ comments were ‘wrong’ and ‘somewhat offensive’.
“She (the surrogate mother) knew she was doing something for someone else,” Ms Veness said. ‘She never thought she was the mother. She’s just an amazing person who gave one of her eggs to create a baby for someone else.
‘I still text her regularly. My parents text her. We all have a very good relationship with her.
‘My parents are – 21 years later – very grateful that she did this for them. It’s really a good thing.’
Ms Cates also warned that Britain’s low birth rate will lead to a population collapse, but does not believe IVF is the solution: ‘We have to be realistic: it is not very successful, in terms of how likely it is to you get pregnant with each round. Unfortunately, the older you get, the less successful you become.”
‘They are great people who fly under the radar’
A student of one of Britain’s most prolific surrogates last night branded Miriam Cates’ comments as ‘insensitive’ and ‘wrong’.
Pictured: Euan Walsh as a baby
Euan Walsh, 22, and his brother Callum, 21, were among 10 babies Jill Hawkins carried during her 20-year career as a surrogate.
His father Andrew and mother Gaynor were unable to conceive after Gaynor was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died in 2007 when Euan was six.
Euan, who is in his final year at Bournemouth University, met Jill, who lives in County Durham, for the first time since he was born last November. He said: ‘Comparing surrogate mothers to dogs is insensitive and shows a lack of knowledge about surrogacy. They are incredible people who almost fly under the radar and should get more credit than they actually do.
‘I met my surrogate mother for the first time in November, which was incredible. I’ve also met a few other surrogates – one who’s having a second surrogacy and someone’s first – and they’re so mentally excited and aware of the situation and what they’re getting into.”
Ms Hawkins retired as a surrogate mother in 2012 at the age of 47 after serious complications during her last pregnancy.
How the law prevents profiteering
Surrogacy laws in Great Britain are much stricter than elsewhere in the world.
Unlike in the US, where commercial surrogacy is allowed and women can earn lucrative sums of up to $90,000 by renting out their wombs to prospective parents, the British system effectively prohibits profiting from this practice.
It means women should only be paid ‘reasonable costs’, in line with fertility laws which also allow sperm and egg donors to pocket only the costs. For surrogacy, these can range from around £12,000 to £25,000 depending on the situation, according to family lawyers. Although the details are agreed between each surrogate mother and the couple paying her bills, what counts as reasonable must be examined and approved by the court after the baby is born.
It is also illegal for an intermediary to profit from arranging surrogacy in Britain.
Couples using a surrogate mother must obtain a parental order from the Family Court after the baby is born to become the child’s legal parents. Until the order is granted – which can take months – the surrogate mother remains the legal mother of the child.
This has led to high-profile disputes, including cases where surrogate mothers have kept the child and refused to consent to a parental order waiving the granting of their rights.