Something else that really struck me about this judgment was the emphasis on the questions intended parents should be asking before entering into a surrogacy arrangement.

And this is something we feel very strongly about at SurrogacyUK.

We ask quite a lot of our intended parents before they can join us, and there’s a very good reason for that. We want people to feel informed, prepared and confident about what a surrogacy journey involves.

Our application process isn’t simply about completing a form and paying a membership fee. We want people to understand what they’re getting into, to think carefully about their expectations and to consider the implications that come with surrogacy.

That’s why we have our Surrogacy Preparation Course, our background and health checks, and conversations with applicants about their motivations, expectations and understanding of surrogacy.

We know that the hope of having a family is what brings intended parents to surrogacy, and we completely understand that. Our preparation process helps people think about everything else that comes with that journey, including the relationships, responsibilities and decisions involved.

I think it’s also important that intended parents understand what joining SurrogacyUK means.

SurrogacyUK is a community rather than a matching agency. Our membership fee supports the preparation, guidance and community we provide, but it doesn’t guarantee a match with a surrogate or a surrogacy journey. Relationships develop naturally, and any decision to embark on a journey together is a mutual one.

Our surrogates are individuals who make their own choices about whether to embark on a journey, who they would like to help and what feels right for them.

At SurrogacyUK, we encourage intended parents and surrogates to get to know one another, build friendships and make those decisions together.

That’s an important part of our friendship first approach, and why we want people joining us to understand that they’re becoming part of a community.

It’s a different way of approaching surrogacy, and one we believe in very strongly.

And importantly, we want to know that intended parents understand and genuinely share our friendship first ethos.

Are they prepared to spend time getting to know a surrogate as a person? Do they understand that she has her own life, family, opinions and boundaries? Are they comfortable with the idea that she will remain a known and valued part of their child’s life? Do they understand that surrogacy is a relationship, not simply a way of having a baby?

And are they prepared for the fact that things might not always go according to plan?

These aren’t questions we should be asking for the first time once someone is pregnant, let alone after a baby has been born.

We want intended parents to have thought about these things before they even join our community, and certainly before embarking on a journey with a surrogate.

Our membership process isn’t a guarantee that everything will go smoothly. Of course it isn’t. People are human, circumstances change and surrogacy can be complicated.

But preparation matters.

Our application process is about making sure that people understand our approach, share our values and feel ready to become part of the SurrogacyUK community. 

Reading this judgment, and particularly the guidance the courts have now repeated in several cases, reinforces why we place such importance on doing that work at the beginning.

You cannot go back and have the conversations you should have had before a pregnancy began.

And whilst our approach can’t remove every risk or prevent every difficulty, we believe it gives people a much stronger foundation on which to build their surrogacy journey.