More than a job, a mission.
Whether due to the significant legal ambiguity surrounding surrogate gestation in a large part of Mexico or the inevitable tendency of lawyers to involve themselves in all matters between individuals, this innovative assisted reproductive technique is closely tied to the legal practice. However, unlike other legally explored acts, there is currently no common protocol among lawyers and authorities that provides uniformity to our involvement in such acts. While these acts deal with one of the most private aspects of the lives of those involved, they are of immense public interest due to their significance in the family realm.
It is important to recognize that the silence of the law, in and of itself, is not a threat to the legal certainty of these acts, but rather the subjectivity of the outcomes.
In Mexico City, as well as in most states of the Mexican Republic, there is no defined regulatory framework that governs how surrogate gestation can or should take place. For this reason, the only general conclusion that can be drawn from the silence of the law is that this assisted reproductive technique is permitted within our local jurisdiction.
While there are health, civil, and family laws and regulations that, together, form the legal foundation upon which surrogate gestation can rest, their application and execution vary depending on the interpretation given in each case.
In this context, it is important to recognize that the silence of the law, per se, is not a threat to the legal certainty of these acts, but rather the subjectivity of the outcomes, which will depend more on the human factor of the professionals involved, rather than the legal aspect. This subjectivity has led to the current primary concern for individuals seeking to access or who have already accessed surrogate gestation or surrogacy. Their true current worry is the uncertainty of the legal processes aimed at achieving public and legal recognition of these acts, as this will depend on the ethics and professionalism of the lawyers and authorities who accompany them.
Whether they are national or foreign, intended parents or gestational carriers, if a person is not intimately familiar with the Mexican legal system, its laws, and its authorities, they are forced to blindly trust what their legal advisors indicate in hopes of a successful legal process. Unfortunately, there may be those who—taking advantage of their knowledge—exploit the hopes of men and women who are on long journeys to create their own families, hiding bad practices that can irreversibly affect anyone involved.
Any attack against [the family] or its methods of biological and legal formation is a detriment that transcends an entire society.
Bribery of authorities, unfair contracts, abuse of influence, among many other reprehensible practices, unfortunately tend to be some of the unscrupulous paralegal practices related to surrogate gestation processes in Mexico. While I am convinced that there are many more lawyers with admirable professionalism and ethics, just one engaging in bad practices can tarnish the reputation and security of all their peers.
From my point of view, this logic is not an exaggeration. The legal interest that we as lawyers dedicated to surrogate gestation deal with is THE FAMILY—the foundation of every society. Therefore, any attack against it or its methods of biological and legal formation results in a detriment that transcends an entire society.
Progress in the field of surrogate gestation is our daily driving force to contribute to our society.
Given the importance of this work, all litigators out there who, like me, have made family law a vocation—progress in the field of surrogate gestation is our daily driving force to contribute to our society. For this reason, I remind my fellow lawyers that if we want the authorities to make integral, prompt, and expeditious decisions, it is our task to set impeccable precedents for that purpose. In this way, we will progressively encounter more and more authorities who, instead of using the silence of the law to seek profits or powers that do not belong to them, will use it to establish precedents for the benefit of all those people whose greatest dream is to build a family.
On the other hand, I consider it important to recommend to those who are starting their surrogate gestation processes, whether as intended parents or gestational carriers , to prioritize seeking legal professionals who demonstrate the highest ethical standards in their practice. A good parameter for identifying a good lawyer in this field is the willingness and openness they show in explaining all the legal, temporal, and social implications that surrogate gestation entails. Additionally, it is important to verify their willingness to work with all the legal means and tools available to ensure that the acts are legally consistent and valid.
Based on experience, I can assure all families and gestational carriers interested in this process that there are many lawyers dedicated to this important mission. More and more, the fruit of their work and legal competence is reflected in the growing novel and progressive criteria in our local and federal courts. Soon, if this trend continues, surrogate gestation will no longer be seen as a privilege for some, but rather as a recognized and guaranteed universal right for those seeking to build or expand their families.
