BASW Position Statement: Surrogacy - 14th December 2016

BASW is the Professional Association for Social Workers in the United Kingdom. We seek to promote best practice in social work and to secure the well-being of social workers.

BASW is frequently asked to explain the position of the social work profession on current issues. These position statements seek to explain positions that we express on issues that arise frequently. They comprise statements in bold and commentary in italics. The commentary seeks to reflect our Code of Ethics, the views of our members expressed through our democratic structures, and our understanding of social work internationally as a practice-based profession and an academic discipline.

This position statement below is about a lifelong process starting when individuals are conceived through surrogacy arrangements, act as a surrogate or are her other offspring, or are the parents raising/ who have raised a surrogate-born child. Its key focus is on the children involved but refers to the ethical and rights-based issues for the adults involved where appropriate. Much of this position statement also applies to individuals affected by donor-assisted reproduction outside of surrogacy arrangements.