Portugal surrogacy laws and legal parenthood
On August 22, 2016, Portugal passed Law 25/2016 allowing surrogacy, although it did not come into force until August 2017. The Portuguese Constitutional Court then struck down this law on the grounds that it violated several principles and rights, such as the gestational carrier’s right to repent.
In July 2019, a new surrogacy bill was passed, but the Constitutional Court again rejected it, this time due to the lack of consensus among deputies to include a repentance clause.
Finally, on November 26, 2021, a new law was passed (which the President of Portugal enacted on November 30 of the same year) that now allows the surrogate to terminate her agreement within 20 days of delivery. This allows those who face the “absolute and definitive” impossibility of becoming pregnant due to medical problems to access surrogacy in Portugal, but without any financial compensation.
On the other hand, the performance and acceptance of the treatment will depend on the authorization of the CNPMA (Conselho Nacional de Procriação Medicamente Assistida) and the previous opinion of the Ordem dos Médicos (Ordem dos Médicos).
Therefore, since the first law of 2016, hardly any surrogacy processes have been carried out in Portugal.
Recommended countries to carry out a process
Since surrogacy in Portugal can only be altruistic and the surrogate mother has 20 days to withdraw from giving the baby to the intended parents, OpenSurrogacy advises against starting a surrogacy process in this country. The countries we recommend are: Georgia, Ukraine, Mexico and Colombia.
Requirements to start a process in Portugal
The requirements to start a surrogacy process in Portugal are the following:
Heterosexual marriages and heterosexual couples
Heterosexual married couples whose wife does not have a uterus or is unable to gestate a baby due to other health problems, CAN carry out a surrogacy process in Portugal.
Single women or couple of girls
Those single women or women who are in a couple with another woman CAN carry out a surrogacy process in Portugal, but only if they can prove through a medical certificate that they do not have a uterus or that due to other medical problems they are unable to gestate a baby.
Single men or couples of boys
Both single men and gay couples will NOT be able to perform a surrogacy procedure in Portugal. For these cases the recommended destinations are Mexico and Colombia.
Best surrogacy agency in Portugal
Since Portugal does not allow commercial surrogacy, requiring it to be altruistic, there are no agencies that can operate in this country.
On the other hand, since there is no guarantee that the surrogate will deliver the baby to the intended parents, our advice is to put yourself in the hands of professionals like OpenSurrogacy, who will help you choose the most suitable destination so that you can fulfill your dream.
Pricing of surrogacy programs abroad
If you wish to obtain information without any kind of commitment about the different countries that exist depending on your family model, do not hesitate to write to us.