Irish people expecting babies via surrogate in Ukraine urge to contact Foreign Affairs Department

There have been 14 identified surrogates.

Parents expecting babies via surrogacy in Ukraine have been urged to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has asked families who are in this situation to contact the department after Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney raised the issue in the Seanad today. With the everchanging situation in Ukraine now becoming worrying for families, the Senator said there is increased anxiety among parents who are expecting babies at the moment via surrogacy. Seery Kearney added that she has been made aware of 14 babies that are expected via surrogacy in Ukraine between now and May. "This is an incredibly anxious period for families at the best of times, but in the context of the ever evolving situation and the news cycle it is particularly worrying for intending parents," she said. "In many instances there is a contrast between the reports from surrogates who are living their normal everyday lives and that of the news available here to Irish couples." She noted that Coveney is aware of these situations, "and he has responded with reassurance that his Department will provide support appropriate to the needs as they present themselves at the time of the baby’s birth". She added: "The officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs have always been most responsive and supportive as families go through the process of securing their emergency travel passport for their babies for the return to Ireland." She said that the situation occurred at the beginning of the pandemic when "Irish officials went to extraordinary lengths to support families and repatriate them with their newborns and I have no doubt this will be no different." Seery Kearney also made parents aware that the two clinics that support surrogacy in Ukraine are making contingency plans in the event of matters becoming much more serious, ensuring all surrogates are in safe hands while giving birth.