Surrogacy in Greece. Summary of legislation on surrogacy
Summary of legislation on surrogacy
In Greece, surrogacy is provided for and authorized by law and
regulated by the following regulations:
- Art. 8 of the Greek Law 3089/2002 "Medical assistance in
assisted reproduction" ("Medical assistance in human
reproduction"; hereinafter Law 3089/2002), which was adopted on 19.12.2002
by the Greek Parliament and legalized surrogacy in Greece;
- Art. 13 of the Greek Law 3305/2005 "Application of the methods of
Medically Assisted Reproduction" ("Application of the methods of
Medically Assisted Reproduction"; hereinafter Law 3305/2005), which regulates the conditions for the establishment
and operation of Medically Assisted Reproduction Units and Cryopreservation
Banks. The law also provides for the establishment of an independent national
authority, as well as criminal and administrative sanctions in case of violation
of the law;
- Greek Law 4272/2014, which
brought about an innovation in the field of surrogacy in Greece. Article 17 of
this law abolished the mandatory condition for permanent residence in Greece as
an eligibility criterion, allowing non-Greek prospective parents to legally
apply for surrogacy.
Under the old legal regime (Article 8 of Law 3089/2002), one of the
preconditions for the issuance of a judicial authorization for surrogacy was
the fact that both the surrogate and the prospective parents had to be
obligatory citizens or residents of Greece.
Article 17 of Law 4272/2014 modified the old regime by stating that:
"Articles 1458 and 1464 of the Civil Code shall apply only if the
applicant or the woman who will give birth to the child is a permanent or
temporary resident of Greece."
- The Code of Conduct on Assisted Medical Reproduction has also
established additional provisions (Decision No. 73/24.01.01.2017, published in
the Official Government Gazette No. 293/02.07.2107), which establish
specific requirements and conditions for surrogate mothers;
- Art. 1455-1460 of the Greek Civil Code (hereinafter referred to as
the Civil Code).
These documents stipulate a number of conditions, the fulfillment of
which is necessary for the realization of this type of assisted reproductive
technologies (ART).
One of the main conditions is that the use of ART is allowed only with a
court order and on the basis of a surrogacy contract (Art. 1458 of the Greek
Civil Code).
According to Article 1456 of the Greek Civil Code, only married
couples, heterosexual couples in civil partnership and single women have
the right to seek medical assistance for the use of ART. ART is not available
to same-sex couples and single men. Prospective parents can be either Greek
citizens or temporary residents.
Only the actual mother has the right to apply to the court. She
must provide a medical report which confirms that she is infertile or
unable to conceive, bear and give birth to a child and/or there is a risk of
transmitting a serious hereditary disease (e.g. sickle cell anemia; art. 1455
of the Civil Code) to the child. The age of the de facto mother must not exceed
54 years (Art. 1455 CC, § 1, Art. 4, Law 3305/2005 § 1).
The surrogate mother must alsoprovide a medical report confirming that
she is physically and mentally healthy and obtain doctors' consent to participate in the program. Special
requirements for a surrogate mother (age, having her own child, being married)
in Greek law are set forth in the Code of Conduct for Assisted Medical
Reproduction (Decision No. 73/24.01.01.2017, published in the Official
Government Gazette No. 293/02.07.2107 ).
Decision 73/24.01.01.2017 concerns the surrogacy procedure and
establishes specific requirements and conditions for surrogate mothers. According
to this decision, a surrogate mother must be between 25 and 45 years of age,
already have at least one child born to her and not have had more than two
caesarean sections.
An essential condition is that the surrogate mother must reside in
Greece. She is forbidden to advertise her services, so independently
searching for a surrogate is extremely difficult. Therefore, the selection of
surrogate mothers in Greece is mainly through specialized organizations.
After collecting all the necessary documents, the actual mother is
obliged to provide the court with a surrogacy contract, which prescribes
the rights and obligations of the parties not only throughout the pregnancy,
but also after the birth of the child. This contract is in writing and signed
by the actual and surrogate mothers, as well as their spouses/civil partners
(if any).
Thus, all persons who have signed the surrogacy contract confirm
their consent to this type of ART, as well as the transfer of parental rights
to the actual parents immediately after the birth of the child.
According to Article 1475 of the Greek Civil Code, the consent of the
spouses/civil partners must be notarized.
A mandatory condition for the conclusion of the contract is the absence
of financial relations between the surrogate mother and the biological parents,
but it is allowed to pay the necessary expenses during pregnancy and after
childbirth, as well as to compensate for the temporary disability of the woman
- such compensation is, on average, 10,000 euros on average and is not
considered as payment for surrogacy.
Furthermore, according to article 8 of Law 3089/2002, the actual
parents and the surrogate mother are obliged to have residence in Greece.
Thus, if all the above conditions are met, the Court, after examining
the provisions of the surrogacy contract and ascertaining that the parties have
not changed their minds, approves the surrogacy contract.
In Greece, the parental rights of the actual parents arise immediately
after the birth of the child by the surrogate mother (they are also recorded as
parents on the child's birth certificate). Only the biological parents
have parental rights over the newborn. In case of non-compliance with the legal
requirements, Article 26 § 8 of Law 3305/2005 provides for criminal liability
for all participants in legal relations related to the implementation of
surrogacy.
The situation with the citizenship of the newborn is very
convenient: it is determined by the citizenship of the parents. If the native
country of the parents does not recognize the child as their citizen - he or
she will receive Greek citizenship. In any case, the documents for departure
will be issued, they will be recognized by the European Union.
As for the choice of the sex of the child in Greece - it is
allowed only on medical grounds. If in your case there is a risk of genetic
disease linked to the sex of the child - you will be allowed to choose the sex
in Greece.
Along with the question of whether surrogacy is legal in Greece, there
are also questions about the legality of egg and sperm donation and embryo
donation. All these procedures are also legal. In the case of embryos, the
law does not require a mandatory genetic relationship with at least one of the
parents. Greek law does not prohibit the use of other reproductive
technologies. For example, egg and sperm donation. However, only doctors
are authorized to select biological material, who will take into account the
compatibility of blood groups and external data of the patient. Sperm and egg
donation provides for monetary remuneration and is completely anonymous. If
necessary, genetic diagnosis of the embryo before transferring it into the
uterus is allowed.
There are, of course, also some prohibitions and restrictions when applying
IVF or using surrogacy. Relatives or friends of the infertile patient have
no right to be donors of sex cells. It is also forbidden to choose the sex
of the future childand destroy unused frozen embryos - they are stored for
the duration of the patient's reproductive life and, later, can be used for
research purposes or given to other patients.
Thus, surrogacy in Greece is becoming increasingly popular. It is a fact that Greece is one of the few jurisdictions in the European Union that regulates surrogacy, which has adopted a favorable and lenient legal framework allowing surrogacy for heterosexual couples and single women, in order to increase the number of medical cases coming from abroad to Greek reproductive medicine clinics.
Head of judicial department «Success» surrogacy centre