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Latest Surrogacy News
Gov't won't register
twins born to American
surrogate mother
Saturday, November 8, 2003 at 07:31 JST
Japan
Today
TOKYO —
The Justice Ministry has rejected an application by a
Japanese couple to register the births of twin baby boys
born to an American surrogate mother, officials said Friday.
The ministry's decision
came a year after the application was filed by the
53-year-old man and his 55-year-old wife, who live in the
Kansai area.
The ministry said it could
not register the twins as the offspring of the couple as the
wife had not actually given birth to them.
The husband said that the
ministry did not take into account the interests of the
children and that he will consult with his lawyer on whether
to file a lawsuit against the decision.
The twins were born in
October last year at a hospital in California. Eggs from an
Asian-American woman were implanted in the womb of the
surrogate mother via in-vitro fertilization with the
husband's sperm, according to the couple.
The twins have been in
Japan since February and were registered in April as U.S.
citizens.
The couple said they had
tried several fertility treatments in Japan to no avail, and
in 2000 decided to seek the help of a company in California
that mediates surrogate births.
California state laws allow
a couple who arrange a surrogate birth to receive a birth
certificate naming them as the parents. A court there has
already ruled the couple as the twins' parents.
The couple obtained U.S.
birth certificates for the twins, and submitted them,
together with their application to register the babies'
births, to a Japanese consulate in the United States.
But the consulate refused
to accept the application on the grounds of a 1961 Justice
Ministry ordinance which calls on local authorities to
verify that any woman over 50 applying actually gave birth
to the child in question.
The consulate passed the
case to the Justice Ministry.
At least 50 Japanese
couples have obtained babies via surrogate mothers abroad
and in most cases their babies have been registered in Japan
as the couples' children, with Japanese authorities failing
to examine if the female applicants were under 50.
Although the Japanese
government has been promoting legislation for fertility
treatment, a health ministry panel in April compiled a
report banning mediated surrogate birth but allowing sperm
and egg donation from third parties. (Kyodo News)
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