Broken baby making machines: Restricting surrogacy through unequal maternity rights

Jane Kassim, mother to twin daughters through surrogacy, is fighting for equal maternity rights – after she discovered that she is not entitled to the same rights as birth mothers.

At the tender age of 15 Jane Kassim discovered that she was born without a womb and that she would never become pregnant with her own child. Now aged 30, married, and wanting to have her own family, her cousin Amy Bellamy volunteered last year to become her surrogate.

Last month Amy gave birth to twins, Isla Jane and Iva May, after they were conceived through IVF using Jane’s fertilised eggs. Overcome with happiness, Jane thanked her cousin for giving her the most wonderful gift in the world.

Like every new mother, Jane equipped herself for the aftermath of the birth – sleep deprivation, learning to care for twins and routine changes. To adapt to motherhood many women take a career break with paid maternity leave. But unlike birth mothers commissioning surrogate mothers are not entitled to the same maternity rights.

Jane, a teaching assistant, was shocked to discover this loophole in the law. As a commissioning surrogate mother Jane is only entitled to 13 weeks of unpaid parental leave – meanwhile birth mothers in the UK are entitled to 52 weeks statutory maternity leave and statutory maternity pay – what a vast and unjust disparity.

Surely maternity rights should not just be a bonus for birth mothers who have fulfilled their biological duty in producing the next generation. Neither should maternity rights reflect the emotional nor physical pain birth mothers experience as incubators for 9 months, when commissioning surrogate mothers often experience the same levels of emotions.

It seems to me that rather than embracing all forms of motherhood, birth motherhood is the only model of motherhood valued by ‘the big society’. As a result women, who are unable to conform to society’s model of motherhood, will find their rights as mothers restricted. Surely this is another example of societies attempt to control women’s reproductive decisions – and a further instance of societies attempt to regulate parenthood and restrict surrogacy. After all the lack of equal maternity rights will discourage childless women who are less well-off from fulfilling their dream of having a family. Surrogacy will become, if not already, a practice for the rich and child-less.

Maternity rights should be available for all mothers. Such rights should be regarded as an opportunity for mothers to bond with their children, learn to care for them and provide them with a good start in life, all of which is beneficial for society. Understandably Jane argued that 13 weeks unpaid parental leave is just not enough time for her to bond with her two daughters.

But what about Isla Jane and Iva May’s right to bond with their mother? 13 weeks post-birth is just not enough time for Isla Jane and Iva May to bond with their mother. Maternity rights are imperative for all children, not just children who have been pushed from the womb of their primary carer. Maternity rights facilitate vital bonding time between mother and child post-birth, which can affect children’s progress and development later in life. Children born from surrogates are as precious as any other children and they deserve their basic rights to a relationship with their mother and a family. Unfortunately, children are voiceless in an adult society which fails to represent children’s rights.

In an attempt to bring outdated legislation up to date with societal changes, Labour MP John Healy, former Shadow Health Secretary, introduced a bill last Tuesday to bring maternity rights in to line for commissioning surrogate mothers. The issue reached the European Court of Justice when another commissioning surrogate mother sued her employer for failing to provide her with the same maternity rights as other mothers.

If the European Court of Justice decides later this year that British laws do not comply with European Union directives, Britain could be forced to change its laws. Let’s hope the law is changed, as Jane is not the first and she will certainly not be the last commissioning surrogate mother to be frustrated by the lack of equal maternity rights.

It’s unfair enough for a woman to be denied a natural right to carry a child, but then to be denied the same maternity rights as birth mothers – rights created by man – is absurd. For what it’s worth, I would be in favour of making a legislative change to allow commissioning surrogate mothers the same maternity rights as birth mothers.

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• Alicez1

  I think you have misunderstood Jane’s plight.   I am sure she would love to spend as much time as possible with her newborn twins – I am sure she certainly doesn’t want to rush back to work, however, that is made extremely difficult if the law doesn’t deem she is entitled to any paid leave at all.  Let’s face it, apart from the first 6 weeks of maternity pay, the remainder is much less than an employee would normally earn, but however little the pay is, surely it goes somewhere to helping a parent stay at home to care for their babies.   It is not in the best interest of the baby/babies for a parent to have to prematurely go back to work, due to financial pressure.   There is paid adoption leave and the rights of the child should be paramount in all these matters.   So whether people agree with Surrogacy or not, the child’s welfare has to come first! 

• Alicez1

  I am sure Jane is in no rush to return to work and would love adequate time to stay at home to look after her newborn twins.  Let’s face it, apart fom the first six weeks
  maternity pay, the remaining period is at a much reduced rate, but however little the maternity pay is, it would still go a long way to helping a parent stay at home with their baby/babies and not feel financially pressurised to return to work prematurely.   The welfare of the child should be paramount!    In the case of Adoption, Adoption leave is in place and payable and it is recognised this in the best interests of the child, so a baby born through Surrogacy should not be treated any differently.  

  Remember Surrogacy IS Legal in this Country and has been for many years, so surely Parents and Children should have the same rights to Maternity/Paternity Leave and pay during those crucial early days, months and year of the child’s life?

• Arwen83

  So many ignorant people,  ignorant of the utterly devastating effect this diagnosis has on a girl. And so young. You never get over this condition, trust me. Good on her.

• juliarosemary

     This was a planned event. The financial  cirumstances should have been thought out.It could be that the law simply has not kept pace with developments in reproductive technology, not that there is a conspiracy against non-birth mothers. Jane should perhaps try to negotiate some unpaid leave or part-time working with her present employers.She could ask her local M.P. to try to get the law changed. But I do hope she is not going to spend her time pointlessly trying to challenge her employer and feeling aggrieved when she should be enjoying the life-changing event of motherhood. Once the babies start walking they will be more challenging to care for than as infants.