Surrogacy in Spain

El Pais has the story:

Spanish couples undergoing surrogacy processes left in legal limbo in Ukraine
A total of 30 families are unable to secure passports for their children, after the Foreign Affairs Ministry says it has detected reports of malpractice and possible trafficking

"The Spanish Consulate in Kiev is examining the cases of 30 Spanish families currently in Ukraine and who are unable to obtain a Spanish passport for their babies after entering into what is an illegal practice back home: paying a surrogate to carry their child.
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"The statement also warns against “entering into any surrogate pregnancy process within this context.”

"The Consulate was echoing a post on the Spanish Embassy’s website, which alerted Spanish nationals to the scams and shoddy practices of certain assisted-reproduction clinics in Ukraine, involving irregularities in the pregnancy process, induced abortions six weeks into the pregnancy so couples are forced to embark on another costly IVF treatment, and a general lack of medical attention during pregnancy.

Until July, babies born to surrogates in Ukraine were registered without fuss at the Spanish Consulate in Kiev.

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"While registration has not yet been point-blank refused to any of the couples, a Foreign Office spokesman said shortly before the statement was issued that they were working with the local authorities to study alternatives in the case of such an event.

Given such a scenario, one possible solution would involve applying for a Ukrainian passport for the baby, thereby allowing he or she to leave Ukraine. And, once in Spain, the parentage could be established through the courts. This is the route being suggested by some of the lawyers representing the couples in question. It was also suggested by a staff member at the Consulate to a couple who are expecting their surrogate to give birth in the next few days.

Previously, the genetic Spanish father and the Ukrainian mother would be registered as the baby’s parents. “Once in Spain, the wife would then adopt her husband’s child with the prior consent of the surrogate mother,” says Franco Antonio Zenna, a lawyer who specializes in surrogacy issues and who is representing some of the couples. “It is as though a child has been born from a husband’s affair. At least that is how it has worked for the last seven or eight years at least.”
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HT: Kim Krawiec