Couples looking for surrogates still going to Ukraine
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.
Hello, I'm Ankur Desai, and in the early hours of Thursday, the 7th of May, these are our main stories. A BBC investigation has found that couples from all over the world are still going to Ukraine in search of a surrogate despite the war with Russia.
Why are couples still seeking surrogacy in Ukraine during the war?
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For years, Ukraine has been one of the world's leading hubs for commercial surrogacy, attracting couples from around the world with lower costs and more relaxed laws. Despite Russia's full-scale invasion, the industry has continued to operate. But now a proposed law being debated in Ukraine's parliament could ban surrogacy for foreign parents, threatening to dismantle one of the world's biggest surrogacy markets.
What potential changes to surrogacy laws are being debated in Ukraine?
A Global Health reporter, Sofia Betitsa, travelled to Kyiv to find out why foreign couples continue to travel to a country at war to have children and what the proposed law could change.
OK.
We are in a so-called baby room in the outskirts of Kyiv, set up by a surrogacy agency. Here, newborn babies wait for their prospective parents to come and collect them from the UK, Turkey, Brazil and beyond.
No, you can hear that.
You can hear that sound?
What challenges do foreign couples face when traveling to Ukraine for surrogacy?
Every year, thousands head to Ukraine for surrogacy. The war disrupted this huge industry, but it didn't stop people like Hematrash and Rajvir, who have travelled from London to Kiev to have a baby.
So you weren't sleeping, you were worried all the time. You could hear explosions, you could hear drones. You could feel tremors and see smoke billowing in the skies from where the attacks were.
Was it worth the risk?
Definitely. Definitely, definitely. I mean, being able to bring our son back and seeing him every day and being able to fill that dream of ours, it was worth every risk.
But not every surrogacy arrangement goes so smoothly. We found that in many cases, parents delay travelling to Ukraine to collect their newborns. Sometimes for months.
How does the Ukrainian parliament's proposed law impact surrogacy for foreign parents?
Svitlana runs a small surrogacy agency.
What are the implications of leaving children born through surrogacy behind?
So you had these twins for 11 months. The intended parents just left them here. But don't you think that leaving their babies for nearly a year... It's a bit selfish and a bit careless. This is not normal, but unfortunately we have had cases. It happens about 80% of the time. I cried when I handed them over. It hurt. They felt like my own.
How are Ukrainian surrogates affected by the ongoing war?
I was watching them grow up, learning to speak, getting their first teeth.
It's still painful for me.
Not every baby is collected. At this children's home in Kyiv, we meet Wei, who was born through surrogacy. He was premature and has a severe brain injury. He cannot sit unaided, hold his head or see properly. When his intended parents were told about his condition, they did not come for him. Cases like this are prompting calls for change. The Ukrainian parliament is now debating a new law that could ban surrogacy for foreign parents. How often are children born through surrogacy left behind? There is a lot of children that are left behind. Valeria Soruchan is from the health ministry.
And it's not only children that are left behind. We don't know where the children go from there. As soon as they get picked up from this country, we don't know what happens to them.
Surrogacy is one of the ways for children trafficking. It is. Would this law solve that problem? We do believe that it will minimize that. But for those women who choose to become surrogate mothers, this is a lifeline in a country where war has stripped away their livelihoods. Karina is doing a scan. She's 22 and carrying a baby girl for a Chinese couple.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:14
2
Why are couples still seeking surrogacy in Ukraine during the war?
1:14–2:17
3
What potential changes to surrogacy laws are being debated in Ukraine?
2:17–2:55
4
What challenges do foreign couples face when traveling to Ukraine for surrogacy?
2:55–3:51
5
How does the Ukrainian parliament's proposed law impact surrogacy for foreign parents?
3:51–3:54
6
What are the implications of leaving children born through surrogacy behind?
3:54–4:23
7
How are Ukrainian surrogates affected by the ongoing war?
4:23–7:49
8
What recent scientific discovery was made about mega tsunamis?
7:49–33:02
Speakers
7 identifiedMore from Global News Podcast
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