Legitimizing surrogacy in Israel

Recently the Israeli Parliament passed legislation regarding all aspects ofassisted reproductive techniques, including surrogacy. The main points ofthis legislation are presented and discussed. The most important aspectsare: (i) a public committee authorizes and supervises every single case;(ii) only full surrogacy is permitted; (iii) the agreement is notcommercial, reasonable expenses can be paid to the surrogate mother underthe supervision of the Approving Committee; (iv) the surrogate mother mustbe single or divorced; (v) under certain conditions the surrogate mothercan withdraw from the agreement; (vi) the child is under the tutelage of asocial worker, representing the state, from birth until the completion ofthe adoption procedure. The religious, social and legal status of surrogatepregnancies worldwide are discussed.