Women who become mothers through surrogacy will be granted maternity leave

The government plans to allow women who become mothers through surrogacy abroad to be eligible for maternity leave.

“As the politician responsible, I cannot leave this situation as is, and so I will be addressing this situation to remove this anomaly,” Social Dialogue Junior Minister Andy Ellul told Times of Malta.

The junior minister said that while there are no discussions to legalise surrogacy in Malta, the government would still ensure that those who have a baby via that process would be eligible for statutory benefits.

His comments come after PL MP Rosianne Cutajar raised the issue via a social media statement.

Surrogacy is the process by which a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child on behalf of another individual or couple, who would become the child’s legal parents.

In many cases, the surrogate mother carries an embryo created from the intended parents’ egg and sperm.

The process is illegal in Malta and carries a criminal penalty for those who carry out the procedure.

Government plans to introduce “altruistic surrogacy” in 2018 were scrapped following public pressure.

However, surrogacy is legal in other countries.

Ukraine, Georgia and several states in the United States allow commercial surrogacy. 

Several EU countries, including Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, allow altruistic surrogacy - meaning that the woman carrying the foetus to term cannot profit from her agreement with the parents. 

In her statement on Friday, Cutajar said that whatever one thought of surrogacy, it was a reality that some are becoming parents through the process abroad.

“Every parent—whoever they are, and however they became a parent—has fundamental rights that must be recognised and protected.  Maternity and paternity leave are essential rights that help build and strengthen the bond between parents and their child in the first weeks after birth,” the Labour backbencher said.

Reacting, Ellul said that he spoke to Cutajar on the issue.

“Besides Rosianne, the DIER (Department of Industrial and Employment Relations) also flagged the issue to me.”

He said that since surrogacy in Malta is illegal, Maltese who went abroad and returned with their newborn faced legal issues.

“This is a situation where employment law is discriminatory. For example, fathers are entitled to paternity leave, but mothers who did not actually deliver the baby are denied maternity leave.”

Ellul said he could not let the situation go on without taking action and he would be working to remove this “discrepancy” in the law.

Talks will be held with social partners. 

The junior minister did not give a fixed deadline for when he planned to see the government plan become law.