JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - In the wake of MadonnaÂ’s adoptions in nearby Malawi, and a commercial surrogacy boom in India, South Africa is laying out stricter rules for foreigners looking to make families here.
Last month a court in Pretoria set out guidelines for foreigners looking to hire a surrogate mother in South Africa. In 2010, a new child welfare law made it tougher for foreigners to adopt. The overall message is that children born in South Africa are better off in their own country, and foreigners need to show a commitment to living here if they want to use South Africans to help them make a family.
In the case last month, a Dutch and Danish couple won permission to use a surrogate. In the ruling, the court in Pretoria laid out guidelines that will now direct how future cases will be resolved. Surrogacy has been legal in South Africa since 2006, and the constitution guarantees equal protection for gays, which courts have routinely cited in allowing same-sex couples to adopt or use surrogates. For foreigners, the ruling essentially means that they must intend to stay in South Africa long-term. The couple involved in the case intends to settle here permanently, the court ruling said. “If you are a French person or a foreigner here only for six months, it is not going to work, unless you live in South Africa for an indefinite period,” said Anthony William, the attorney who represented the couple.
“This judgement is important because it sets the parameters and the guidelines.” South African law specifically prohibits commercial surrogacy. The court cast a wary eye on India, where the practise was allowed in 2002, creating an “assisted reproductive” industry that in 2008 was valued at $450 million a year.
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