A Difficult Turning Point in Family Law: The Current Developments on Surrogate Motherhood with a Comparative Law Perspectiv

Surrogate motherhood has become one of the most interesting and complicated issues of family law in both domestic law and private international law. The verity of the ‘mater semper certa est’ principle of Roman law has started to feel the effects of the development of new reproduction techniques. The different national legal provisions and applications have become the reason for the rise of (international) surrogacy tourism. It can now be seen that the once rigid approach of European countries in this area has softened since the decisions of the ECHR in Mennesson and Labassee. The subject is partly regulated in Turkish law while the practice of surrogate motherhood is prohibited. In our study, we attempted to deal with the subject matter according to different aspects - in terms of comparative law and recent decisions of the ECHR. Thus, we wish to make a contribution to the discussion and potential legal framing and harmonization in Turkish law