A two-day forum on Gestational Surrogacy in the Context of Human Rights was held from 11 – 12 October 2018 in London, convened by the Yale Law School and Reproductive Health Matters (RHM), with support from Open Society Foundations.

Aware of the incredible work happening in the world, the multi-disciplinary forum brought together medical experts, academics, legal scholars and global policy shapers from Argentina, India, Kenya, South Africa, USA, Netherlands, UK, New Zealand and Mexico, with the aim of consolidating the rights-based knowledge related to surrogacy.

The meeting also identified research and knowledge gaps, strategized on the dissemination of conceptual frameworks to key stakeholders as well as explored the possibility of having a special journal issue specific to surrogacy.

The sessions explored a variety of topical sub-themes including the benefits and harms of surrogacy, consent as a key principle in upholding human rights, commodification, regulation of transnational agreements, and also nuanced the desirable elements for legal coherence in regulating surrogacy.

Ultimately, this forum hoped to build solidarity across movements and influence the larger global response to surrogacy through meetings such as the upcoming one set to be hosted on 1-2 November by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.