International Surrogacy Practices Raise Concerns Over Stateless Babies
The rise in international surrogacy is leading to an increased risk of babies being born stateless, according to experts. This issue has gained attention following the suspension of a 15-year effort by The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) to establish a global surrogacy convention. The lack of a unified legal framework across countries has resulted in a patchwork of regulations, leaving children vulnerable to 'limping parentage'—where a child has different legal parents in different countries—and statelessness. Countries like the US, UK, Australia, and Canada permit surrogacy in some form, while others, such as Italy, have banned it. The absence of international standards complicates the legal status of children born through surrogacy, potentially leaving them without nationality if neither the country of birth nor the destination country recognizes the surrogacy arrangement. 
