Surrogacy bill to be prepared for Icelandic parliament

Iceland (By Icenews service) : The Icelandic parliament has voted to begin the process of making surrogate mothers legal.
Alþingi yesterday passed a resolution calling on the Minister for Welfare to assemble a working group to prepare a parliamentary bill to allow surrogacy for benevolent purposes, i.e. not as a form of business.

The parliamentary resolution was sponsored by Independence Party MP Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir; who told parliament the bill must be written firstly to satisfy the best interests and rights of the unborn children involved, secondly to serve the best interests, independence, rights and welfare of the prospective surrogate mothers and their families, and thirdly to serve the best interests of the prospective families the children would go to.

The resolution was approved with 34 votes in favour, 13 votes against and four abstentions. There are 63 members of Alþingi, but not all are present at every debate.

The discussion around surrogacy in Iceland has been raging for years with a clear majority of opinion poll respondents usually in favour.