• Umbrella group to protest proposed changes to Spanish law banning practice
• 2010 loophole lets Spaniards register children born to surrogate moms abroad
A coalition of some 50 feminist and LGBT groups in Spain on Tuesday launched an umbrella organization to target proposed changes in Spanish law that would legalize the use of surrogate mothers in Spain for a fee, a practice banned under Spanish law since 2010.
The anticipated introduction of legislation in Spain’s Congress of Deputies by centre-right party that would make surrogate pregnancies legal in Spain has sparked the formation of the umbrella formation, known as Red Estatal contra el Alquiler de Vientres (literally, National Network Against Belly Rental).
Surrogate pregnancies are expressly prohibited under Spain’s Law of Assisted Reproduction, passed under the Socialist government of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in 2006, which declares null and void any contract or agreement involving pregnancy, whether or not any money is involved in the transaction. But, in 2010 a loophole was found in the law that has allowed hundreds of Spaniards to register as their own children born through surrogate pregnancies arranged by agencies with women in lesser-developed countries.
The first action of the new organization will be to protest against the upcoming “Surrofair” event, scheduled for early May at a downtown Madrid hotel to inform the Spanish public about the different possibilities available to them for surrogate childbirth.
► Read More in Spanish at El País, La Marea and Hoy …
