A new documentary from the BBC World Service explores Ukraine’s surrogacy industry for foreign parents and the complexities that arise when arrangements encounter difficulties. Produced in collaboration with BBC News Ukraine as part of the BBC Global Women series, the film, titled “Born in a War Zone – Ukraine’s Surrogacy Dilemma,” offers an in-depth look at one of the world’s leading surrogacy markets. This industry operates within a country grappling with a demographic crisis and in its fifth year of war, with its parliament currently considering a ban on surrogacy for foreign parents.
Claire Williams, BBC World Service Executive Editor of Global Journalism, highlights the rare access gained into Ukraine’s surrogacy industry, describing the film as “revealing and thought-provoking.” She emphasizes the significant and ongoing impact of the industry on women, intended parents, and children, particularly as the conflict with Russia persists.
For many years, Ukraine has been a prominent global hub for commercial surrogacy, attracting international couples due to its lower costs and more lenient laws. Even following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the industry has continued to function, with fertility clinics adapting to wartime conditions. However, a proposed law under debate in Ukraine’s parliament could prohibit surrogacy for foreign parents, potentially dismantling one of the world’s largest surrogacy markets. The documentary investigates the reasons foreign couples continue to travel to Ukraine for children and the potential implications of this impending legal shift for intended parents, the women carrying pregnancies, and the children born through these arrangements.
Marta Shokalo, Editor of BBC News Ukraine, notes that surrogacy can appear both transactional and profoundly human, shaped by emotions, sacrifices, and challenging decisions. She explains that the on-the-ground expertise of BBC’s Ukrainian journalists provided crucial firsthand insight into the intricate ethical questions posed by surrogacy, especially within a war context. Presented from a global perspective by the World Service, the resulting story is compelling and resonates far beyond Ukraine.
Sofia Bettiza, BBC World Service’s Global Health Reporter, delves into the commercial aspects of the surrogacy business, including “Black Friday” offers and 360-degree views of potential egg donors. Bettiza interviews intended parents who recently traveled to Kyiv to collect their babies, as well as Ukrainians managing surrogacy agencies and young Ukrainian women carrying pregnancies for foreign couples in the war-affected nation. The film also sheds light on children born via surrogacy who have been left waiting for months or abandoned when agreements falter. A key question explored is whether a new Ukrainian law banning surrogacy for foreign parents would adversely affect Ukrainian women who rely on it for income.
The BBC World Service documentary, “Born in a War Zone – Ukraine’s Surrogacy Dilemma,” was directed and filmed by Fay Nurse, and produced by Sofia Bettiza and Victoria Prisedskaya.
International audiences can watch the documentary on the BBC World Service YouTube channel. The accompanying story is available on the BBC News website (bbc.co.uk in the UK; and internationally on BBC.com, BBC Studios’ global digital news platform). A Ukrainian version of the documentary is accessible via the BBC News Ukraine YouTube channel and will be featured on BBC News Ukraine’s Instagram and TikTok channels, with the story available on bbc.ua.
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