Inheritance Rights of a Child Born From a Surrogate Mother According to Indonesian Law

Abstract

Throughout the lives of human beings, starting from one’s birth to their death, one may see that rights and obligations are always present. The issue of inheritance comes up at the end of a person’s life. The division of one’s inheritance is a complex matter, especially when it comes to the right to inherit for a child that is born from a Surrogate Mother. Surrogacy procedures are a form of Assisted Reproductive Technologies that aids married couples who are unable to have an offspring naturally due to health issues or abnormalities, and therefore must be assisted by these treatments. There are two different types of Surrogacy, namely Traditional Surrogacy and Gestational Surrogacy. Traditional Surrogacy is legally allowed in Indonesia, but there are no laws that specifically regulate Gestational Surrogacy; there are however, laws that imply the prohibition of it being practiced as a method of Assisted Reproductive Technologies. According to Indonesian laws, a child born from Gestational Surrogacy is considered either an illegitimate child or a child born from adultery, thus creating a problem regarding their inheritance, for the child will be unable to receive inheritance from their parents, even though the intent of Gestational Surrogacy is to have a child for the intended parents to raise as their own. This article will discuss the legality of Gestational Surrogacy as well as the issue of inheritance for a child born by the procedure; this includes regulations that tackle the issue and hopeful solutions for the issue at hand.