The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for ACR-LAW-1

Nov. 5, 2024, 1:02 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Under current guidelines, single women are barred from freezing their eggs, with assisted reproductive technologies only available to married women with fertility issues" (para 3). "After China reported its first population drop in six decades amid record low birth and marriage rates, government political advisers proposed in March that single and unmarried women should have access to egg freezing and IVF treatment" (para 5). "Same-sex couples remain barred from marriage and adoption, and surrogacy is illegal" (para 16).
Nov. 5, 2024, 12:59 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"The Chinese government wants to make the technology [vitro fertilization], which it made legal in 2001, more accessible. It has promised to cover some of the cost — typically several thousand dollars for each round — under national medical insurance. It is one of more than a dozen policy measures that Chinese officials are throwing at what they see as a very big problem — a fertility rate so low that China’s population has started to shrink" (para 5, 7). "China recently promised to build at least one facility offering I.V.F. for every 2.3 million to three million people by 2025. It currently has 539 medical institutions and 27 sperm...more
Oct. 17, 2024, 6:46 p.m.
Countries: Mexico
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the practice of womb surrogacy. According to the ruling, surrogates are not to receive compensation for their services, limiting the exchange of money to cover expenses related to the pregnancy. The court also decided that the specifics of legislation regulating the practice would be up to individual states" (par. 1-3). "“Womb surrogacy must always be agreed to through altruistic intent. The court recognizes the legality of the practice but warns against scenarios in which women may be the subject of exploitation,” Said Supreme Court President, Arturo Zaldívar Lelo" (par. 4).
Oct. 15, 2024, 12:28 p.m.
Countries: Australia
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory, follow the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee's advice that ‘a maximum of ten donor families per sperm donor’ is acceptable. While in NSW, a sperm donor is limited to five women, in Victoria, 10 women, and in Western Australia to five families...Ms Ashton's donor had made his donations prior to changes in law, which made it compulsory for donors to be identifiable for conceived children over the age of 18" (24-25, 30).
Sept. 7, 2023, 9:51 a.m.
Countries: Kenya
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"There are no strict surrogacy laws in Kenya, and being a developing country, it offers reasonably cheap surrogacy treatment. Kenya is one of the few countries which is legally open for commercial surrogacy" (para 18).
July 25, 2023, 10:44 a.m.
Countries: Cambodia
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"[T]he adoption of a decision by the Ministry of Health in October 2016 to criminalize all forms of surrogacy" (14).
May 23, 2023, 11:57 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"[C]hengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan province, which legalised registration of children by unmarried women in February, something China is considering implementing nationwide to address record low birth rates. The changes mean unmarried women can take paid maternity leave and receive child subsidies previously only available to married couples. Crucially, Chen could access in-vitro fertility (IVF) treatment legally in a private clinic" (Para.2-3). "Concerned about China's first population drop in six decades and its rapid ageing, the government's political advisers proposed in March that single and unmarried women should have access to egg freezing and IVF treatment, among other services. China's leaders have not commented publicly on the recommendations" (Para.6)....more
April 1, 2023, 9:26 p.m.
Countries: Uzbekistan
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"The Act establishes a separate article 11 on the protection of women’s reproductive rights, which states that the protection of women’s reproductive health includes: obtaining reliable and complete information about their reproductive health, methods of treatment of infertility and contraception; ensuring access to reproductive health services; and obtaining medical consultations and services on reproductive health issues, while respecting confidentiality. Women have the right to treatment for infertility and reproductive health care before pregnancy, during birth and in the postnatal period, with modern treatment methods and social protection from the State." (27-28).
Feb. 18, 2023, 11:17 a.m.
Countries: Mexico
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Recent global events have fueled Mexico’s appeal: The Russian invasion led to the decline of Ukraine’s once-booming surrogacy industry, a growing number of middle-class Americans are seeking a cheaper surrogacy alternative, and a 2021 Mexican Supreme Court ruling struck down a state ban on foreigners and same-sex couples hiring surrogates." (Para.5). "But the surrogacy boom in Mexico has grown faster than the regulations to oversee it, putting both surrogates and intended parents at risk of exploitation. Fertility clinics are loosely supervised, and surrogacy agencies and brokers operate without any oversight whatsoever. The practice is regulated in just two of Mexico’s 32 states—Tabasco and Sinaloa. Two other states explicitly don’t recognize...more
Dec. 9, 2022, 2:29 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"The government has also vowed to make infertility treatment more widely available to married women, by including reproductive technology in the country’s national medical system. In China, single women are not allowed to freeze their eggs and undergo in vitro fertilization" (para 3).
June 14, 2022, 5:24 p.m.
Countries: Denmark
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"In 2018, it became possible for a single woman or a couple to receive both sperm and eggs from a donor in cases of infertility due to medical reasons (so-called double donation). Especially lesbian couples and single women can benefit from double donation due to their natural need of donor sperm in their treatment" (26).
June 7, 2022, 9:49 a.m.
Countries: Ukraine
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Another industry fuelling the trafficking trade is surrogacy. In their article 'The Pornification of War in Ukraine', Gail Dines and Eric Silverman write: 'War-fuelled trafficking is not the only current threat to the vulnerable women of Ukraine. The country was a major worldwide hub for another form of sexual exploitation, ‘surrogate’ motherhood, one of only a handful of nations that allow foreigners to enter into such ‘legal’ agreements. The war has pushed these women into even more desperate situations since many now are living in impoverished refugee camps or bomb shelters, lacking the resources to feed their babies.' Indeed, Helen Pringle and Renate Klein argue that the marketing surrounding the...more
April 18, 2022, 11:02 a.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"The judge said she had therefore had to consider the provisions of 2008 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act" (para 8). "Surrogacy agreements are not enforceable by UK law, even if you have a signed document with your surrogate and have paid their expenses" (para 24).
March 9, 2022, 8:57 a.m.
Countries: Italy
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Act No. 40 of 19 February 2004, being supplemented by the Decree of 7 October 2005 (OJ No 282 of 3 December 2005). Such Legislation established the National Register of Facilities authorized for the application of techniques of Medically Assisted Reproduction; and aims at solving problems of sterility or infertility, if there is no other effective treatment to address the causes of said problems" (89). "By case No. 151 of April 2009, the Constitutional Court pointed out: 'The law [40] allows that the protection of the embryo may weaken in order to make room for the aim pursued, namely to allow the use of the medically assisted procreation as guaranteed...more
Jan. 6, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Customary and religious law prohibit artifical and/or commerical reproduction" (1).
Aug. 14, 2021, 9:35 a.m.
Countries: Vietnam
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Dr. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet – Director of Hung Vuong Hospital, shared that this is the first successful surrogate pregnancy at the hospital after being officially authorized by the Ministry of Health to perform the technique of surrogate pregnancy for humanitarian purposes" (para 10). In the video at 0:51- 0:59, Dr. Diem Tuyet says: “The hung vuong hospital is one of only 5 hospitals in the whole country that have permission from the ministry of health to do the surrogate birth process." In the video at 2:12-2:14, Dr. Diem Tuyet says: "In 2014, the Ministry of Health gave permission to do the surrogacy process." In the video at 2:24-2:30, Dr....more
July 3, 2021, 3:12 p.m.
Countries: Mexico
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"MEXICO CITY – Mexican feminists protested on June 7th, against the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) because it endorsed surrogacy in the midst of a prolonged and controversial debate. A group of women, dressed as characters from 'The Handmaid’s Tale,' demonstrated against the Supreme Court’s ruling, which last week validated that states may regulate whether a woman can charge for lending her womb or do so 'altruistically'" (para 1-2). "The protest occurs while the Supreme discusses the constitutionality of the Civil Code of Tabasco, which in 1997 became the first to legalize the practice, which is only allowed also in Sinaloa, since 2013. Despite the longevity of...more
June 9, 2021, 8:43 p.m.
Countries: Poland
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"In Poland in the reporting period the pharmacological and surgical methods and artificial insemination were fully financed, whereas Assisted Reproductive Technologies (In vitro) were available but for a payment.37 Pursuant to the Ordinance of the Minister of Health of 29 August 2009 on the guaranteed services of hospital treatment (Dz. U. No 140, item 1143, as amended), the patient has access (under the State guaranteed services) to services in cases diagnosed as: For women: Recurrent pregnancy loss, Female infertility associated with an ovulation, Female infertility of tubal origin, Female infertility of uterine origin, Female infertility of cervical origin, Female infertility associated with male factors, Female infertility of other origin, Female...more
April 27, 2021, 12:47 p.m.
Countries: Cambodia
Variables: TRAFF-LAW-1, TRAFF-LAW-2, ACR-LAW-1

"A group of 32 women who acted as surrogates for Chinese clients were found guilty of human trafficking and handed suspended jail terms with an order to raise their children “well” in Cambodia’s first trial of surrogate mothers. The 32 were arrested while pregnant in 2018 and, in the absence of laws covering surrogacy, charged under human trafficking laws, drawing criticism from human rights groups who said the women should be treated as victims" (para 1-2). "Cambodia was a popular international destination for couples looking to have babies through commercial surrogacy, a practice made illegal in 2016 after an uptick in the trade following a ban by neighboring Thailand the...more
April 26, 2021, 11:49 a.m.
Countries: Italy
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"Act No. 40 of 19 February 2004, being supplemented by the Decree of 7 October 2005 (OJ No 282 of 3 December 2005). Such Legislation established the National Register of Facilities authorized for the application of techniques of Medically Assisted Reproduction; and aims at solving problems of sterility or infertility, if there is no other effective treatment to address the causes of said problems" (89). "By case No. 151 of April 2009, the Constitutional Court pointed out: 'The law [40] allows that the protection of the embryo may weaken in order to make room for the aim pursued, namely to allow the use of the medically assisted procreation as guaranteed...more
April 22, 2021, 6:30 p.m.
Countries: Kenya
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"The most recent iteration of this debate happened last year when the Reproductive Healthcare Bill 2019 sponsored by Senator Susan Kihika was proposed to consolidate the 'right to the highest attainable standard of health, including the right to reproductive healthcare' enshrined in Article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution. Much more ambitious than the 2014 bill that preceded it, this piece of legislation proposed to make prenatal, delivery and postnatal services free for every woman in Kenya, outlaw forced sterilization, regulate surrogacy and provide a more solid framework for sex education" (para 7). "In an interview on Milele FM in July 2020, the bill's sponsor, Senator Kihika, clarified her initial intent:...more
March 4, 2021, 8:34 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"In the UK surrogates are the legal mother of any child they carry, unless they sign a parental order transferring their rights to the intended parents when they give birth. The birth mother always has the right to keep her child, even if they are not genetically related. It's illegal to pay a surrogate in the UK, except for medical expenses" (para. 21-23).
Dec. 31, 2020, 3:12 p.m.
Countries: United States
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

"...due to the hyper-marketed, unregulated U.S. fertility industry and the idealization of reproductive technology, women are pressured to continue fertility treatments at all costs. (Although there is a federal mandate for fertility clinics to share their success rates, there are no fertility industry standardized protocols)" (para 13).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Russia
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Places where it is legal for women to be paid to carry a child for a foreigner include Russia” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT). “Gay couples are banned from surrogacy in countries including…Russia” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Germany
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Countries including…Germany… outlaw all forms of surrogacy” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Taiwan
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Taiwan bans all surrogacy. But since same-sex marriage was legalised in May 2019, commercial surrogacy agencies from the United States have marketed their services to gay couples on the island, including from Asian countries like China” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Portugal
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Countries including…Portugal… outlaw all forms of surrogacy” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Gay couples are banned from surrogacy in countries including Nigeria” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Georgia
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Places where it is legal for women to be paid to carry a child for a foreigner include…Georgia” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).
Nov. 6, 2020, 10:26 a.m.
Countries: Italy
Variables: ACR-LAW-1

“Countries including…Italy… outlaw all forms of surrogacy” (para 29) This quote is taken from an informative text box inserted into the article following paragraph 29 (MLB-CODER COMMENT).