What are conditions for surrogacy in Vietnam? Which relatives are allowed to be surrogate mothers in Vietnam?

What are conditions for surrogacy in Vietnam?

At Article 95 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 there are regulations on conditions for surrogacy for humanitarian purposes as follows:

1. Altruistic gestational surrogacy shall be based on the voluntariness of involved parties and established in writing.

2. Husband and wife have the right to ask for a person’s gestational surrogacy when they fully meet the following conditions:

a/ The wife is certified by a competent health organization as unable to carry a pregnancy and give birth even with assisted reproductive technology;

b/ The couple has no common child;

c/ The couple has received health, legal and psychological counseling.

3. A gestational carrier must fully satisfy the following conditions:

a/ She is a next of kin of the same line of the wife or husband who asks for gestational surrogacy;

b/ She has given birth and is permitted for gestational surrogacy only once;

c/ She is at a suitable age and is certified by a competent health organization as eligible for gestational surrogacy;

d/ In case she is married, she obtains her husband’s written consent;

dd/ She has received health, legal and psychological counseling.

4. Altruistic gestational surrogacy must not contravene the law on giving birth with assisted reproductive technology.

5. The Government shall detail this Article.

What are conditions for surrogacy in Vietnam? Which relatives are allowed to be surrogate mothers in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Which relatives are allowed to be surrogate mothers in Vietnam?

In Clause 7 Article 2 of Decree 10/2015/ND-CP there are regulations on relatives of the wife or The husband's side requests surrogacy as follows:

Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms and phrases below are construed as follows:

...

7. Next of kin of the same line of a spouse who asks for gestational surrogacy includes his or her full siblings, paternal half-siblings and maternal half-siblings; children of his or her paternal and maternal uncles and paternal and maternal aunts; and siblings-in-law of his or her full siblings or paternal or maternal siblings.

Thus, relatives who are eligible for gestational surrogacy are relatives of the wife or husband's side requesting gestational surrogacy, including: Brothers, sisters of the same parents, same father, different mother, and same mother; brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, cousins; brother-in-law, sister-in-law of someone who has the same parents or the same father or mother from the same father as them.

What psychological counseling contents are surrogate mothers counseled for in Vietnam?

In Clause 2 Article 17 of Decree 10/2015/ND-CP there are regulations on psychological counseling contents as follows:

Psychological counseling contents

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2. A gestational surrogate should be counseled on the followings:

a/ Psychology and emotion of family members and friends during the time she carries the pregnancy;

b/ Psychological liability toward the gestational surrogacy-requesting couple in case of miscarriage;

c/ Psychological impacts on her natural children;

d/ Feeling of loss and complex after delivering the child to the gestational surrogacy- requesting couple;

dd/ The main motive for carrying the pregnancy is the willing to help the gestational surrogacy requesting couple, not for profit;

e/ Other related contents.

Thus, the surrogate mother needs to be advised on the following:

- Psychology and feelings of family members and friends during the surrogacy period;

- Psychological responsibility for the couple using surrogacy if they have a miscarriage;

- Psychological impact on their biological children;

- Feeling of loss and guilt after giving the child back to the pregnant couple;

- Only perform surrogacy when the main motivation is the desire to help the couple through pregnancy, not for profit purposes;

- Other relevant content.

Are surrogate mothers and surrogacy requesting parties entitled to maternity benefits in Vietnam?

In clause 2 Article 98 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 there are regulations on rights and obligations of altruistic gestational surrogacy requesting party as follows:

Rights and obligations of altruistic gestational surrogacy requesting party

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2. Rights and obligations of the altruistic gestational surrogacy requesting party toward their child shall arise from the time the child is born. The mother requesting gestational surrogacy is entitled to the maternity regime in accordance with the labor and social insurance laws from the time of receiving her child to the time the child is full 6 months.

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And in Clause 3 Article 97 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 there are regulations on rights and obligations of the altruistic gestational carrier party as follows:

Rights and obligations of the altruistic gestational carrier party

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3. A gestational carrier is entitled to the maternity regime as prescribed by the labor and social insurance laws until the child is delivered to the gestational surrogacy requesting party.

When the duration from the date of giving birth to a child to the date of delivering that child is less than 60 days, a gestational carrier is still entitled to the maternity regime for full 60 days. The child born from gestational surrogacy shall not be counted into the number of children under the policy on population and family planning.

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According to this Article, the surrogate mother and the surrogate mother are entitled to maternity benefits according to the provisions of the law on labor and social insurance in Vietnam, specifically:

- The surrogacy requesting party is entitled to maternity benefits according to the provisions of the law on labor and social insurance from the time of receiving the child until the child is 6 months old.

- The surrogate mother is entitled to maternity benefits according to the provisions of the law on labor and social insurance until the time the child is delivered to the surrogate mother.

In case from the date of birth to the time of delivery of the child, the period of maternity benefits is less than 60 days, the surrogate mother is still entitled to maternity benefits until the full 60 days in Vietnam.

Best regards!