Legislation of Belarus on Surrogacy

Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 341-З of 07.01.2012 “On assisted reproductive technologies”

(Text of the legal act with amendments and additions on January 1, 2014)

The document is registered in the National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus on January 10, 2012 N 2/1893.

Adopted by the House of Representatives on December 19, 2011. Approved by the Council of the Republic on December 20, 2011.

This Law is aimed at defining the legal and organizational framework for the use of assisted reproductive technologies and ensuring the rights of citizens in their application.

According to the Law of the Republic of Belarus of 07.01.2012 No. 341-З “On assisted reproductive technologies” (hereinafter – the Law): 

1. Article 20 of the Law, the service of surrogacy can be used only by a woman for whom bearing and giving birth to a child are physiologically impossible or associated with a risk for her life and (or) the life of her child.

For the fertilization of the ovum of the genetic mother, her husband’s or donor’s spermatozoa can be used.

For the fertilization of the donor egg, only the spermatozoon of the woman’s spouse can be used.

2. Article 21 of the Law, surrogacy service can be used by both a married woman and a woman outside marriage.

3. Article 22 of the Law establishes requirements for a surrogate mother:

A surrogate mother may be a married woman between the ages of 20 and 35, who does not have medical contraindications to surrogate motherhood, who has a child and who at the time of the surrogacy contract:

• was not recognized by the court as incapacitated or partially capable;
• was not deprived of the parental rights by the court and was not limited in them;
• has not been discharged from the duties of a custodian, a trustee for improper fulfillment of assigned responsibilities;
• is not a former adopter if the adoption is cancelled by the court at her fault;
• has not been convicted for a serious crime, especially a serious crime against a person;
• is not a suspect or a defendant in a criminal case.

A surrogate mother cannot simultaneously be an ovum donor for a woman who has enacted a surrogacy contract with her.