Actor and comedian Rebel Wilson has announced the birth of her daughter Royce Lillian via surrogate pregnancy.
"I can't even describe the love I have for her, she's a beautiful miracle!" the new mum gushed on Instagram.
"I … particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care. Thank you for helping me start my own family, it's an amazing gift."
Wilson has been open about her struggle with fertility in the past and has been vocal about her decision to freeze her eggs.
Wilson, best known for her roles in Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids, shared that she was in a relationship with fashion designer Ramona Agruma in June via Instagram.
The following day, the Sydney Morning Herald published a column by journalist Andrew Hornery in which he accused Wilson of going public to "gazump" a story he was planning to write on the relationship.
Wilson, who lives in Hollywood and put her Sydney home up for sale in April, said in a tweet at the time that it was "a very hard situation" but was she "trying to handle it with grace".
The Australian Press Council has since found the publication caused "substantial offence and distress" and breached its standards of practice.
The actor hasn't confirmed where her daughter was born.
In Australia, the process to conceive via surrogate can be long and complex.
What is surrogacy?
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman (the surrogate) agrees to carry and give birth to a child on behalf of another person or couple (the intended parent/s).
Is surrogacy allowed in Australia?
Yes, surrogacy is legal everywhere in Australia.
But it has to be altruistic surrogacy.
Sarah Jefford is a family creation, surrogacy and donor-conception lawyer who is also a surrogate herself, giving birth to a baby in 2018 for two dads.
"Commercial surrogacy is not legal in Australia, the surrogate cannot be paid in exchange for handing over the baby or for agreeing to be someone's surrogate," Ms Jefford said.
"But she can have all of her expenses covered, the intended parents can pay for all of her medical expenses or if she needs to take time off work."
In some countries including the US, commercial surrogacy is legal and means that intended parents can pay the surrogate mother specifically for carrying the child.
What happens if a surrogate wants to keep the baby in Australia?
In the rare case that a surrogate refused to give the intended parents the baby, it would then become a legal issue where a family law judge would determine who receives custody of the child.
"From a legal perspective, the surrogacy agreement is not enforceable. Anyone in that arrangement can change their mind. It's to protect the child and to protect the parties involved," Ms Jefford said.
"So, while it's technically true that she can refuse to hand over the baby, it doesn't necessarily mean she gets to keep the baby – that's for the judge to decide in the best interests of the child."
However, because a surrogacy agreement is not enforceable the intended parent/s could also change their mind.
The birth parents could then have custody of that child and they cannot force the intended parents to take custody.
However, Ms Jefford said both situations are incredibly rare.
"I haven't had a case where this has happened because the intended parents are so committed to having the baby and the surrogate is so committed to having that baby for the parents," she said.
"I joke in my legal advice that the only reason a surrogate would not want to hand over the baby is if the parents had a meth lab in the backyard."
How much does a surrogate cost in Australia?
Surrogate pregnancy is achieved via In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) which is often the largest cost associated with the process.
"The cheapest I've heard is $15,000 and I've seen up to $100,000 but mostly it's between $40,000 to $60,000," Ms Jefford said.
All expenses related to a surrogate pregnancy are paid out of pocket due to the fact that Medicare rebates do not apply to surrogacies.
"There is no rhyme or reason for that, it's just how the Medicare guidelines were written," Ms Jefford said.
"What that means on a discrimination level is that if I go to a clinic, I have a uterus and I want IVF they say 'Yep, let's put some eggs in the freezer and we'll get you your rebate'. If I've had my uterus removed because of illness? 'Sorry, no rebate for you'."
"It also applies to gay men — no uterus, no rebate."
How many babies are born via surrogacy each year in Australia?
There's no single register for surrogacy births in Australia but based on statistics from IVF clinics and her clients from non-clinical surrogacies, Ms Jefford puts the number at around 100 surrogate births per year.
However, there may be many more Australian babies born via surrogacy – they're just not born in the country.
"We also know that for every baby born here via surrogacy there's three born overseas for Australian-intended parents," Ms Jefford said.
"Mostly because it's easier to find a surrogate overseas because you're paying for it."
How do you qualify for surrogacy in Australia?
There are strict rules in Australia that you must have a medical or social need in order to have a surrogate — you can't just opt into it.
"A medical reason can be all sorts of things — fertility issues or a number of pregnancy losses, quite often it's cancer treatments. The social reason is just an odd way of saying a gay couple or a single man," Ms Jefford says.
"Basically, if you or your partner have a uterus you need a medical reason, if you don't then you have your social reason."
There are also laws surrounding the age of the surrogate parent and intended parents and if the surrogate parent has given birth before that vary from state to state.
Can a single person have a baby via surrogate?
Single women can have a baby via surrogate in all Australian states and territories.
Single men can have a baby via surrogate everywhere in Australia except Western Australia. Same-sex couples are also barred from accessing surrogacy in Western Australia.
"There are laws in Western Australia that says you have to be a straight couple or a single woman with a medical reason. That discriminates under the sex discrimination act and if the WA government was taken to the high court they would lose," Ms Jefford said.
"They know this and they have been talking about reforming their surrogacy laws for a few years now. They will reform them, it's just a question of when."
