News Item

June 2018

Rethinking Legal Parentage Symposium

11 JUNE 2018, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY

This symposium is part of a three-year study at the University of Canterbury titled “Rethinking Surrogacy”. The project involves a multi-disciplinary team of researchers led by Dr Debra Wilson. Other key researchers include Dr Rhonda Powell and Professor Annick Masselot. The team are examining the legal, ethical, cultural and societal implications of surrogacy arrangements in New Zealand, including both domestic and international agreements.The work aims to produce options for law reform and a model surrogacy law.

The symposium is being held at the end of the second year of research work, and will (among other things) look at: findings to date; the Hague work on legal parentage; adoption as a means of transferring parentage of children born via surrogacy; new and emerging challenges that assisted reproductive technology poses for traditional notions of parenthood.

The Law Foundation is contributing $178,354 towards this three-year research project “Rethinking Surrogacy”.