“They said I was helping someone have a baby. But no one told me I’d be breaking a law in a country I’ve never even seen.”
— Ada, 28-year-old Nigerian surrogate carrying twins for a European couple

What Happens When the Law Refuses to Acknowledge the Womb?

Surrogacy — the process of carrying a child for someone else — can be a lifeline for couples who struggle with infertility. It can be traditional (where the surrogate uses her own egg) or gestational (no genetic link to the surrogate). Either way, it’s a deeply personal and legally complex act.

But in many countries, it’s a criminal one.

And when those bans collide with cross-border arrangements, it’s women in the Global South, often African, who bear the greatest risk. While wealthier nations outlaw or heavily restrict surrogacy, many turn to African countries where laws are vague or nonexistent. The result? A legal and emotional minefield that no one talks about — except the women living it.

Where Surrogacy Is a Crime: 5 Countries With Harsh Bans

1. France: The State Owns the Womb

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France bans all forms of surrogacy — even unpaid, altruistic ones. The rationale? It violates “human dignity.” French courts regularly void surrogacy contracts, and children born abroad often face citizenship denial.

In 2020, a French couple was denied the right to register a child born via surrogacy in Ukraine.

“The child exists, but the contract doesn’t,” a French judge ruled.

The French government considers surrogacy a form of exploitation of women’s bodies and a threat to the rights of the child.

In fact, under French law, the woman who gives birth to the child is always considered the legal mother, even if she’s not biologically related to the baby.

2. Germany: Eugenics, Memory, and Control

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Germany’s Embryo Protection Act (1991) prohibits all surrogacy arrangements. The law is rooted in post-World War II efforts to prevent reproductive manipulation and protect human dignity.

Even intended parents who pursue surrogacy abroad face hurdles. Children may not be granted full citizenship, and courts rarely recognize foreign surrogacy contracts.

Medical professionals who assist in surrogacy arrangements can be fined or imprisoned. This includes IVF clinics that implant embryos into surrogates.

3. Sweden: Birth Equals Motherhood

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In Sweden, the woman who gives birth is the legal mother, no matter what. In 2016, a government inquiry concluded that surrogacy risked “commercializing female bodies” and advised against legalization. Intended parents are forced to go abroad, but their children face legal uncertainty when returning.

4. Italy and Spain: Morality Over Modernity

Italy criminalizes surrogacy with up to two years in prison and fines exceeding €1 million. In Spain, surrogacy contracts are void.

The country legally recognizes only the birth mother, not the intended parents. Italian courts have refused to recognise children born via surrogacy in other countries, especially for same-sex couples.

5. China: Criminalized and Underground

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China banned all forms of surrogacy in 2001. Clinics risk closure, and doctors can lose their licenses. Yet a booming underground industry thrives, especially for wealthy clients.

In 2021, Chinese actress Zheng Shuang abandoned two children born through American surrogates, prompting public outrage and a crackdown on agencies.

Surrogacy’s Unspoken Cost in Africa

For every country that bans surrogacy, there’s another that becomes a quiet destination. In many African nations, surrogacy isn’t explicitly banned, but it also isn’t protected or regulated. This creates a dangerous legal vacuum, especially for low-income women.

Below the surface of clinics and contracts lies a deeper truth: African women are carrying other people’s children without rights, recognition, or recourse.

Ada – Nigeria to Europe

Ada agreed to carry twins for a European couple. She was paid ₦6.5 million. To avoid stigma and legal fallout, she told neighbors she’d suffered a stillbirth.

“They got their babies. I got silence. It’s like I never existed.”

Juliet – Lagos

After being laid off, Juliet turned to surrogacy as a survival option. A broker promised housing and healthcare. Instead, she was left isolated and unattended.

“I bled for two days before anyone checked on me.”

The Legal Gaps Across Africa

In Nigeria, there is no formal protection or clear rights for surrogates or parents, and this also applies to Kenya. Kenya, however, faces unregulated custody as the birth mother is often defaulted, risking legal battles. As for Ghana, the Clinics are unregulated, causing them to operate informally.

In Kenya, several British couples faced complications after commissioning surrogacy. Upon return, their children couldn’t be registered as UK citizens because Kenyan law didn’t recognize the arrangements.

South Africa: A Legal Model — for the Privileged

South Africa’s Children’s Act (2005) provides a rare example of regulated surrogacy in Africa.

Key Provisions:

• All agreements must be approved by a court before any medical procedures begin.

• The surrogate must be medically and mentally fit.

• The process must be altruistic, with no commercial payment allowed.

• At least one intended parent must contribute a genetic gamete.

But legal and administrative costs are high. For many, the system is effectively closed.

Why Banning Surrogacy Hurts More Than It Helps

Bans do not protect women — they push the entire process underground. And underground surrogacy is where exploitation thrives.

• Surrogates are silenced, unpaid, or abandoned.

• Babies may become stateless due to unrecognized parentage.

• Women face trauma without access to counselling or legal protection.

Bans also erase agency. For many women, surrogacy is a choice — one made under financial strain, but with full knowledge of what’s involved. By criminalizing the practice or leaving it legally ambiguous, governments strip these women of both autonomy and protection.

What Africa Must Do Now

Africa cannot afford to wait for another international scandal to expose the cracks. The continent must act — not by copying Western bans, but by creating homegrown solutions.

• Develop clear national surrogacy laws that protect all parties

• Ban commercial exploitation but allow ethical, regulated arrangements

• Provide medical care and emotional support for surrogates

• Launch public education campaigns to reduce stigma

• Establish regional legal frameworks for cross-border protections

In Conclusion, Surrogacy is not just a Western debate. It’s a human rights issue. And it’s already happening across Africa — in silence, in secrecy, and in legal limbo.

Surrogacy is banned or heavily restricted in countries like France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, and China — often in the name of protecting morality or human dignity. But these bans don’t stop the demand; they redirect it.

As a result, many intended parents turn to African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, where surrogacy is legal in practice but not protected by law. African women — like Ada, Juliet, and Nneka — are stepping in to carry these children, often in silence, with no legal rights, healthcare guarantees, or emotional support.

Their stories reveal the human cost of legal silence. These women are not criminals or martyrs — they are mothers, daughters, survivors. And they are being forgotten in a system that protects no one.

The article argues that banning surrogacy hurts more than it helps. It pushes the practice underground, puts children in legal limbo, and abandons the very women it claims to protect.

The womb may belong to one woman, but the consequences cross continents. Until African lawmakers act, women will continue to carry not just children — but the silence of a continent.

It’s time the law carried something too.