Members of the German Ethics Council are disagreeing with Chairman Helmut Frister’s views regarding the possibility of allowing altruistic surrogacy in Germany. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the council members Jochen Sautermeister and Gregor Thüsing are firmly against the proposed plans. Sautermeister argued that rather than attempting to legally draft ideal conditions for altruistic surrogacy to rule out problematic scenarios, the practice should remain banned to protect the dignity of both women and children.
Thüsing added that health risks, psychological pressure, and “especially the instrumentalization” exist even within an altruistic model. To prevent the surrogacy ban from being bypassed, he suggested taking a look at Italy. According to Thüsing, if the German state does not wish to accept the risks and dangers of surrogacy for good reasons, then the step Italy took two years ago-banning the use of surrogacy services abroad-is both consistent and correct.
Frister indicated to Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday that he was “split” on the matter, noting the difficulty of enforcing protective mechanisms “in practice.” However, he admitted to leaning towards permitting altruistic surrogacy under certain conditions.
