This is the Zulu version of the podcast titled "Why the genetic link requirement for surrogate motherhood is unjust" presented by Nomfundo Mthembu and discusses the issue of infertile people’s access to surrogate motherhood.

Summary

South African surrogacy law includes a provision, known as the genetic link requirement, that commissioning parents must use their own gametes for the conception of the surrogacy child. As a result, infertile persons who cannot contribute gametes for the conception of a child are prohibited from accessing surrogacy as a way to establish families. This is a clear violation of infertile persons’ right to family life, which includes the right to establish a family. The genetic link requirement has previously been the subject of a constitutional challenge that resulted in a divided Constitutional Court bench that rejected the challenge with a seven-to-four majority. This was an injustice to infertile persons. The genetic link requirement is now again being challenged in a new lawsuit. The new lawsuit presents an opportunity for this injustice to be rectified, and the equal rights of infertile persons to be vindicated.

Further reading

Thaldar DW. Infertility: ConCourt must right its egregious wrong. Sunday Times, 24 July 2022.

See also

Thaldar DW. The Constitution as an Instrument of Prejudice: A Critique of AB v Minister of Social Development. Constitutional Court Review 2019.

Thaldar DW. Post-truth jurisprudence: the case of AB v Minister of Social Development. South African Journal of Human Rights. 2018.

Shozi B. Something old, something new: applying reproductive rights to new reproductive technologies in South Africa. South African Journal of Human Rights. 2020.