BORN LOST: STATELESS CHILDREN IN INTERNATIONAL SURROGACY ARRANGEMENTS

I. Introduction Surrogacy, "the process of carrying and delivering a child for another person," 1 has become a popular solution for infertile and same sex individuals who desire a child of their own. 2 However, surrogacy encompasses a host of legal (and medical) complications. 3 The legal issues include establishing legal parentage, 4 facing fraudulent arrangements, 5 and resolving contractual disputes. 6 If the couple travels abroad to find a surrogate, there is the additional difficulty of complying with the laws and regulations of that country. Amidst these complications, one challenge that intended parents are likely unprepared for is what to do when the child is born stateless. 7 The lack of international consensus on the legality of surrogacy has resulted in the birth of children who are not recognized as citizens by any nation. 8 Without a government to issue the child traveling papers or a passport, the child remains in legal limbo. 9 This was the situation faced by Samuel Ghilain, a child born in Ukraine to a surrogate commissioned by his intended parents, Laurent Ghilain and Peter Meurrens, a pair of married men from Belgium. 10 Although adoption by same sex couples is legal in Belgium, 11 Ghilain and Meurrens were frustrated by the administrative difficulties of adoption and turned to surrogacy. 12 After researching surrogacy agencies and consulting with the Belgian authorities, they hired a surrogate in Ukraine to carry the embryo, created from Ghilain's sperm and an anonymous ...