Quarantine and the closure of borders in Ukraine created an unexpected conundrum: About 100 babies born by surrogate mothers for foreign couples were left in care of the companies offering commercial surrogacy. Their new parents who had been waiting for the children to be born couldn’t arrive to get them.

Babies in waiting

The issue had been raised on 13 May after a video from the Kyiv’s clinic of reproductive medicine “Biotexcom” went viral online, KP.ua reported.

In the video 46 babies that had been born during quarantine were shown lying in plastic beds for newborns in a room, some of them crying. The kids were stuck in the Venice hotel in the Ukrainian capital under supervision of the clinic’s personnel.

The authors of the video were trying to show that babies had been well looked after, but the reaction to the film was divided. Some Ukrainians don’t view surrogacy as a genuine attempt to assist childless couples, but rather as something ethically unacceptable.

Ukraine is one of the limited number of countries where commercial surrogacy is legal. The cost of services is affordable by the international standards, this is why many foreign couples choose Ukrainian companies to help them to get a child of their own.

If there are 100 babies waiting after 2 months of quarantine, it means there are about 600 kids born annually for foreign parents via surrogate mothers.

In the video 46 babies that had been born during quarantine were shown lying in plastic beds for newborns in a room, some of them crying.

Surrogate parents can now get their kids

Following the increased interest to the issue, Ukrainian Rada’s human right ombudsmen Lyudmyla Denisova announced that parents of the kids born via commercial surrogacy are eligible to apply for an exemption to enter the country.

The decree by the Cabinet of Ministers from 14 March 2020 regarding quarantine allows foreigners to enter Ukraine on approval by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To get the permit, the embassy of the foreign citizen’s country should apply on their behalf to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Intended parents of surrogate babies who got caught in the quarantine should apply for an entry permit via this avenue, the department of external politics confirmed.

The parents can also apply to the office of the human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova directly.

Foreign parents who arrive to Ukraine to get their newborn kids will have to enter the required 14-day quarantine. They also must download the app that allows to trace their contacts while in Ukraine, in case of an infection.

At the moment, there are over 100 babies born to surrogate mothers in Ukraine that couldn’t be collected by their intended parents, Denisova informed.

Earlier the ombudsman spoke against allowing foreigners to use commercial surrogacy in Ukraine. In her view, the rights of children aren’t protected correctly, since Ukrainian authorities are unable to follow up and check on the wellbeing of the kids.

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