The Assisted Human Reproductive Act (“AHRA”) governs all aspects of assisted reproductive technology in Canada. So whether you are an international Intended Parent (IP) or a Canadian surrogate, you are governed by this legislative framework. How you establish legal parentage for a child born through ART is prescribed by provincial laws that are not all created equal. For the last 10 years IPs, Surrogates and Gametes Donor (sperm or ovum) have lacked a definitive schema, without regulations, by which to guide their IVF process. The law defining reimbursable expense did not exist but severe penalties did. This created uncertainty in the advising process for surrogacy and donor agreements due to gaps in the federal law.
We will touch on a few of the legal paradigms about to change and highlight them for you as this gap has now been addressed by the federal government. This article addresses several of the areas, as follows:
Gametes Donations (Egg or Sperm)
Basically, the new regulations sets out in Section 8, Consent for Use of Human Reproductive Material and In Vitro Embryos, the rules respecting the consent for the use of human reproductive material and in vitro embryos. What this means is that the donor must provide consent in the form of a signed document which must prescribe a number of enumerated factors.
Section 10 under the AHRA setting out the safety and storage requirements for gametes is a separate topic and the subject of upcoming article pending on site visits with various clinics.
Reimbursements Related to the AHRA Regulations – Section 12
What are acceptable expenses are set out with the process required to provide substantiate them such as receipts and a specified doctor’s declaration for wage loss during pregnancy.
There are still grey areas including childcare, travel, and maternity clothing. If we keep in mind a legal test we refer to as “But for”, in other words, but for the pregnancy would this be a reasonable expense for the Surrogate to incur, we will remain on side! But it is always the best practice to consult with your fertility lawyer to clarify how the new regulations will impact your journey.