Is commercial surrogacy subject to criminal prosecution?
(Baonghean.vn) - According to the law, commercial surrogacy is considered a violation of the law. So is commercial surrogacy subject to criminal prosecution? This is a concern of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (Yen Thanh, Nghe An).
Reply:For humanitarian purposes, to help women who cannot conceive but want to become mothers, the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family has recognized surrogacy for humanitarian purposes as legal. However, surrogacy for commercial purposes is prohibited and subject to criminal prosecution.
According to Article 187 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, there are two main penalty frameworks and one additional penalty for those who commit the crime of organizing surrogacy for commercial purposes as follows:
Main penalty: Fine from 50,000,000 VND to 200,000,000 VND, non-custodial reform from 3 months to 2 years or imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years for those who organize surrogacy for commercial purposes.
Imprisonment from 1 year to 5 years for offenders in one of the following cases: Two or more people commit the act; commit the crime twice or more; take advantage of the name of an agency or organization; dangerous recidivism.
Additional penalties: Offenders may also be fined from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000, banned from holding positions, practicing a profession or doing certain jobs from 1 to 5 years.
