ABSTRACT
‘Baby snatching’ is everywhere a criminal offence and the worldwide laws which constrain adoption are expressly directed to preventing the purchase of infants by infertile women. ‘Surrogate’ motherhood differs fundamentally from adoption, in that it must involve some genetic affiliation between the ‘commissioning parents’ and the resulting child; even then, further distinctions are needed. These are based mainly on the genetic contribution of the carrying mother: that is, whether or not she provides the ovum. The parental order was something of a makeshift addition to the 1990 Act when it became clear that the existing legislation failed to address the problem of surrogacy and, particularly, of womb leasing. One intuitive reaction to womb leasing could be to see it being operated simply as a matter of convenience for the commissioning couple: for instance, to avoid a pregnancy interfering with a woman’s career or lifestyle.
