Spotlight on the surrogate mother View(s):Justice Yasantha Kodagoda on need to regulate Assisted Reproductive HealthBy Kumudini HettiarachchiThe dire predicament of the surrogate mother and the urgent need for a strong regulatory framework covering Assisted Reproductive Health, was the clarion call from a Supreme Court Judge to an eminent gathering of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists last Sunday in Colombo. The researcher had documented multiple instances where surrogate mothers had been left abandoned with the pregnancy or the newborn. He went onto say that in almost all surrogate arrangements examined by the researcher, parties had entered into written agreements which “purportedly” provided for the protection of the rights of the surrogate mother, rights of the donors and to the entitlements of those who commissioned the surrogate arrangement. Underscoring that for the victimized surrogate mother, legal enforcement of the breached contract had become almost impossible, he said that the situation had got complicated because there were doubts among legal professionals. A surrogate mother cannot be treated as a subject matter of a commercial agreement.

Source: Sunday Times January 18, 2026 10:58 UTC