The practice whereby a woman is sought, and
usually paid, to bear a child for an
infertile couple. Such commercial surrogacy
is practised in some European countries and
in the USA. In the UK, the Warnock Report
1984 on embryo research condemned surrogacy.
Under the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 it
became illegal for third parties to negotiate
or facilitate any surrogacy for payment. The
act did not affect non-commercial surrogacy
agencies nor did it regulate negotiations
directly made between the mother and the
commissioning parents. Under the Human
Fertilization and Embryo Bill 1989 a
statutory licensing authority was established
to regulate research and treatment in human
infertility and embryology. The act enabled
any established surrogacy services to be
brought within the control of the authority.