In re L (A Child) (Parental Order: Foreign Surrogacy)

Subject Matter

CHILDREN — Orders with respect to children — Parental order — Couple domiciled in England entering into surrogacy arrangement in United States of America — Payments to surrogate mother exceeding reasonable expenses — Couple applying for parental order — Whether payments to be authorised — Whether child's welfare first or paramount consideration — Weight to be given to public policy considerations — Whether parental order to be made — Whether notwithstanding paramountcy of welfare applications for authorisation of payments to continue to be scrutinised with view to policing public policy matters — Observations as to transfer of cases to specialist family proceedings court and High Court — Adoption and Children Act 2002, s 1 — Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, s 54(8) — Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2010, reg 2, Sch 1

[2010] EWHC 3146 (Fam); [2011] Fam 106; [2011] 2 WLR 1006; [2011] 1 FLR 1423, Fam D