Surrogate Motherhood in Israel

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau has announced that the Chief Rabbinate will approve the practice of surrogate motherhood, but only under rigorous restrictions, according to the newspaper Ha’aretz. Some of the conditions spelled out by Rabbi Lau are that the mother carrying the child not be married, careful records of the biological and surrogate mother be kept, and each case be approved by a special committee that includes a religious representative.

The report noted that many rabbis believe the surrogate mother is the child’s real mother and are demanding that the biological parents go through adoption procedures.