An MP is lobbying to close a “legal loophole” that denies mothers of children born through surrogacy the same entitlement to maternity leave as others.
John Healey, local MP for Wentworth and Dearne, took up the case after one of his constituents, Jane Kassim, was told by her employer, Rotherham Council, that she was entitled to neither time off work nor statutory pay, even though women adopting children have such rights.
The teaching assistant was born without a womb, but her cousin, Amy Bellamy, gave birth to twins – Isla Jane and Ivy May – via IVF treatment using Kassim’s eggs and husband Adis’ sperm last month.
Kassim, who was told at the age of 15 that she would never have children, said to the Daily Telegraph: “I was stunned when I learned I didn’t have the rights of other mums because my girls were born through surrogacy. When I enquired I was told I wasn’t entitled to any kind of maternity leave or pay apart from 13 weeks parental leave, which would be unpaid.”
But she could not get by without a wage and felt that she needed longer than 13 weeks to bond with her children, Kassim added.
Labour MP Healey pointed out that about 100 children per year were born to surrogate mums and the number was on the rise.
“Society is changing and the law needs to catch up. Maternity rights are there to help mothers and their newly-born babies through the earliest months of the child’s life, when time together is most needed,” he said.
This meant that mothers whose babies were born through surrogates needed as much support as any other. “I want to introduce legislation to close the legal loophole that means such mums don’t have these rights like those giving birth themselves or adopting automatically have,” Healey said.
But a spokesman for Rotherham Council replied that although, under the current law, there was no entitlement to maternity leave or pay for people who had children via a surrogate mother, the organisation would “welcome any changes to legislation, which would benefit families and children”.
