Surrogacy is permitted within certain limits  (i) an agreement must be in writing and signed by all involved parties; (ii) the agreement must be entered into in South Africa; (iii) at the time of entering into this agreement all involved parties should be living in South Africa; (iv) a court, within whose area of jurisdiction the surrogate mother is residing, must confirm the agreement; (v) the commissioning parents must be lawfully married and jointly enter into the surrogacy agreement; and (vi) no person may publish any facts that reveal the identity of a child born as a result of a surrogate motherhood agreement.

 

A court needs to confirm the surrogacy agreement before the surrogate mother may be impregnated If this process does not occur within 18 months of the court’s confirmation, then the agreement lapses.

 

The surrogate mother should not receive any payment for the surrogacy agreement. Reasons against payment include inappropriate coercion of vulnerable women and insult to human dignity. However, she should be financially reimbursed for pregnancy-related medical expenses and complications. Reasonable cost is another important issue.  This includes traveling costs for prenatal visits and money for vitamin supplementation. Only persons who render professional services, i.e. medical or legal, in connection with the surrogate motherhood agreement may receive compensation.