Georgia faces surrogacy scrutiny after 1,100 births in 2023

Georgia registered more than 3,000 surrogate mothers in 2023 as the industry expanded after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reported in an Oct. 11 article.

The growth carries cross-border legal and ethical risks: DW said surrogate births in Georgia exceeded 1,100 in 2023, up from an estimated 300 in 2021.

Georgia’s Public Service Development Agency said surrogate mothers registered in the country have delivered more than 5,000 children since 2012, according to DW. The country became a larger destination after foreign customers were barred from Russian surrogacy contracts in 2022 and agencies moved from Ukraine to Georgia.

The article followed Olga, 40, and Daniel, a couple from Hamburg whose names were changed by DW. Surrogacy is illegal in Germany, and parents whose children are born through surrogacy must seek legal recognition in German courts.

The couple told DW they considered a Russian-Georgian agency in Tbilisi and met a Ukrainian surrogate in spring 2024. “We were constantly being made to understand that we should decide as quickly as possible,” Olga said, adding that she felt manipulated by agency pressure.

DW reported that estimates vary, but about 19 clinics in Georgia offer surrogacy services. Agency packages in Tbilisi or Batumi cost about €45,000 to €55,000, roughly one-third of the price charged in other countries, according to the article.

Several surrogate mothers who delivered in Georgian clinics told DW they were paid about €18,000 to €28,000, with extra payments for cases such as twin births. One Russian surrogate, identified as Anastasia, said she completed two surrogacies in Russia and a third in Georgia for a Japanese couple arranged through a Moscow clinic branch.

“I live in an apartment with another surrogate mother who carried twins to term,” Anastasia told DW. “This program was the easiest and most practical one for me, but maybe I just got lucky with the right clinic.” She also said other women reported delays before receiving payment after giving birth.

Human rights lawyer Nino Bogveradze told DW that Georgian law regulates the relationship among surrogates, intended parents and clinics, but does not account for agencies. DW reported that national law does not set minimum standards for social guarantees or contract terms.

DW said surrogate mothers in Georgia are not allowed, after embryo implantation, to keep the child, exit the programme or terminate the pregnancy. Human Rights Watch and the International Women’s Health Coalition say the established practice in Georgia violates women’s rights to reproductive self-determination, according to the article.

Olga Doletskaya, an anthropologist at the University of Leeds who studies reproduction and migration, told DW that agencies present themselves as helping people have children. “But in reality, they're primarily driven by financial interests,” she said. “And that's why they exploit the precarious situation of surrogate mothers, and pressure intended parents.”

Olga and Daniel returned to Germany and put the surrogacy plan on hold, at least for now, DW reported.