A Pyramid Approach to Surrogacy Law

Danushika Abeyrathna serves as the Head and Senior Lecturer in Law at the Department of Private and Comparative Law, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. An Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka with a Ph.D. in surrogacy law, she is a prize-winning scholar and a Guest Editor of the Asian Bioethics Review who has contributed nationally to policy making while advancing academic discourse in medical law, family law, and human rights.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Rights-based pyramid approach; 3. Surrogacy law in the UK: through the lens of RPA; 4. Surrogacy practice in India: through the lens of RPA; 5. Surrogacy practice in Sri Lanka: through the lens of RPA; 6. From national regulation to global influence: mapping the displacement, rebound and regulatory backlash effects of surrogacy markets; 7. RPA in action – contextualising the RPA; Conclusion; Bibliography; Appendix 01: interview details; Appendix 02: voices of Sri Lankan surrogate mothers; Appendix 03: voices of Sri Lankan intended parents.

'Danushika Abeyrathna has produced a meticulous and ground-breaking analysis, combining careful comparative description with an original rights-based theory of surrogacy and emphasising the best interests of the child, whom she describes as 'voiceless and choiceless'. This book transcends jurisdictional and disciplinary boundaries, setting out an ambitious agenda for surrogacy regulation aimed at rectifying persistent power imbalances and lessening the risk of exploitation.' Donna Dickenson, Emeritus Professor Donna Dickenso, Medical Ethics and Humanities, University of London