Georgia to ban surrogacy for foreign nationals

TBILISI, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Surrogacy will only be permitted for Georgian citizens, while foreign nationals will be banned from receiving such service in Georgia, said Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

"Much of our society is concerned about the topic of surrogacy, and it is a more complex issue, because it relates to the safety of our citizens in general, the country's image, and so on," a news release issued by the government quoted Garibashvili as saying at a meeting on Monday.

Garibashvili noted that surrogacy for foreign citizens has been turned into a business, and there is no regulation to monitor this in Georgia.

"This is also happening online, where there are too many advertisements, and we think it is very disturbing to leave this issue unregulated," he said, adding that the government is working on a bill to allow surrogacy only to Georgian citizens.

Meanwhile, Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili told a press conference on Monday that both surrogacy and vitro fertilisation in the country will be only limited to Georgian citizens as of Jan. 1, 2024, and relevant advertisements will also be banned.