Couples pay surrogates £60,000 for baby

COUPLES are paying up to £60,000 for babies born via surrogate mothers despite a ban on commercial surrogacy, a study has found.

The UK’S “altruistic” system means surrogates may be reimbursed only “reasonable expenses”, which experts say should cost families no more than £12,000.

However, the world’s largest fertility conference, in Barcelona, heard yesterday that British courts routinely sign off costs of far greater value if they can be persuaded the child is going to a good home. The survey of 177 sets of parents by the University of Kent showed that the largest group – 30 per cent – paid between £20,000 and £30,000, while 25 per cent paid between £10,000 and £15,000, and 21 per cent £15,000 to £20,000. Seven per cent paid up to £40,000, and in five cases couples paid up to £60,000. The law does not set a limit for “reasonable expenses”. However, cash payments are supposed to be scrutinised by judges when they make parental orders.

Natalie Smith, from Surrogacy UK, which campaigns against commercialisation, told the European Society for Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting that the current system gives courts “wiggle room”. “The welfare of the child trumps everything, so that if someone does pay more than reasonable expenses the judge does have some flexibility,” she said.