Westminster Hall — sitting of 7 September 2026: transcript & video · Polyfact

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Westminster Hall

7 September 2026

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Contents updated on 7 Sept 2026

The Chair and petition sponsor introduce the UK surrogacy e‑petition, outline the current parental order system and the Law Commission’s proposed new parental pathway, and pose questions on the Government’s reform timetable, while early contributions stress human‑rights‑based safeguards, birth‑mother primacy, and resistance to commercialisation and international exploitation.

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Surrogacy petition — opening, legal framework and safeguards

15:21

Opening and petition context on UK surrogacy

15:21

Opening of petition debate and UK surrogacy framework

15:21

Chair opens debate and motion moved

15:21

Current UK surrogacy parenthood rules — practical impacts

17:44

Law Commission 2023 proposals — new parental pathway

22:37

International surrogacy, exploitation risks and UK altruistic model

24:30

Chair’s procedural reminder and Rebecca Smith MP’s concerns on safeguards and commodification

26:21

Chair confirms motion and invites contributions

26:21

Rebecca Smith MP — defence of parental order safeguards

26:35

Rebecca Smith MP — commodification, child welfare and international markets

29:23

Human rights, safeguards and opposition to Law Commission model

33:35

Human rights framing and critique of Law Commission model

33:35

Speaker highlights human rights framework in surrogacy debate

33:35

Law Commission model — shift of rights and economic imbalance

35:14

Q — MP: My Surrogacy Journey on gov.uk and international exploitation

37:06

Child‑centred defence of existing surrogacy safeguards

40:23

Child-centred objections to automatic legal parenthood

40:23

Safeguards of current surrogacy framework and critique of contractualisation

43:42

DUP health spokesperson — anti‑commercialisation and international risks

49:14

DUP health spokesperson — caution on surrogacy reform

49:14

Human rights framework and anti‑commercialisation stance

50:59

Fertility market, egg donation and clinic oversight

52:55

International surrogacy, loopholes and petition safeguards

54:34

Surrogacy petition — parliamentary debate and government stance

55:59

Backbench MPs — arguments for and against surrogacy reform

55:59

Josh Newbury MP — support for regulated new surrogacy pathway

55:59

Josh Newbury MP — legal limbo and court workload

55:59

Q&A — consent, cooling‑off period and role of courts

57:31

Alignment with Law Commission’s new surrogacy pathway

01:00:22

Constituent support and call to modernise surrogacy law

01:01:23

Backbench MPs — arguments on surrogacy reform

01:02:27

Rachel Taylor MP — parental limbo and nature of consent

01:02:27

Equality for same‑sex and disabled parents in surrogacy

01:03:48

Taylor MP — equality, modern families and Law Commission

01:06:03

Fletcher MP — ethical objection and commodification concerns

01:07:34

Surrogacy petition — opposition, scrutiny and government response

01:12:08

Lib Dem spokesperson — surrogacy trends and Law Commission proposals

01:12:08

Lib Dem spokesperson — changing surrogacy landscape and fairness

01:12:08

International surrogacy trends and Law Commission pathway

01:15:52

Delays, adoption comparison and risk of two‑tier systems

01:17:55

Shadow Minister — safeguards, parental orders and international commercial surrogacy

01:21:23

Shadow Minister — parental orders and child welfare

01:21:23

Shadow Minister — surrogate consent and international surrogacy

01:25:07

Health Minister — government stance on surrogacy reform

01:31:43

Health Minister — responses to debate and policy context

01:31:43

Health Minister — current parental order law and reform limits

01:35:57

Minister — benefits query, Law Commission review and next steps

01:39:17

Surrogacy petition — formal closure

01:41:33

Surrogacy petition — closing statements and formal resolution

01:41:33

Petition sponsor’s closing remarks on surrogacy debate

01:41:33

Chair puts Question on surrogacy petition

01:43:42

Petition on misogyny hate crime — debate and government response

01:45:21

Petition context and current hate crime framework

01:45:21

Petition and legal framework on misogyny hate crime

01:45:21

Tony Vaughan MP opens misogyny hate crime petition debate

01:45:21

Legal framework gaps and new sex‑based hate crime aggravation

01:46:55

Vaughan MP — online platforms, training and intersectionality

01:50:13

Backbench MPs — misogyny, online abuse and hate crime framework

01:56:44

Wera Hobhouse MP — technology‑facilitated misogyny and hate crime law

01:56:44

Luke Myer MP — misogyny, online extremism and hate crime law

02:03:08

Luke Myer MP — refuges, housing and future funding after PCC abolition

02:05:33

Backbench and opposition MPs — online misogyny and misogyny hate crime proposals

02:10:09

Sarah Edwards MP — influence of online misogyny and case for stronger regulation

02:10:09

Sarah Edwards MP — online influencers, Andrew Tate and harmful norms

02:10:09

Sarah Edwards MP — misogyny as hate crime and regulating platforms and influencers

02:15:25

Lib Dem spokesperson — misogyny hate crime, online abuse and VAWG strategy

02:17:55

Lib Dem spokesperson — legal reforms and data on misogyny hate crime

02:17:55

Lib Dem spokesperson — online abuse, deepfakes and tech regulation deadlines

02:20:39

Lib Dem spokesperson — recommitting to VAWG strategy and tackling extremist rhetoric

02:23:37

Opposition frontbench — enforcement gaps, policing and online misogyny

02:24:46

Opposition frontbencher — enforcement, police numbers and early release

02:24:46

Online misogyny, Tate case and evidence gaps

02:29:13

Minister — government VAWG measures and stance on misogyny hate crime

02:32:16

Minister — hate crime framework, new VAWG measures and position on misogyny hate crime

02:32:16

Minister — opening, student petition and hate crime framework

02:32:16

Minister — commencement of new laws and initial challenge on misogyny hate crime

02:35:45

Minister — VAWG strategy, online safety and prevention measures

02:38:29

Minister — no commitment now on misogyny hate crime and Macdonald review

02:40:35

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Westminster Hall

7 September 2026

Westminster Hall Mon, 7 Sept 2026 Actual start 16:15 House of Commons

15:20 - 15:25

Speaker 1

Order, order. Dave Robertson to move the motion.

15:25 - 16:41

Speaker 2

Thank you, Mr. Pritchard. Can I say it's always a pleasure to serve in a debate where you're in the chair, and I'm sure today will be no different. I beg to move that this House has considered e-petition 763161 relating to UK law on surrogacy. The petition calls for a change in the law so that intended parents of babies born through surrogacy can be considered the legal parents from the moment of their child's birth. Under current law, that isn't possible, and intended parents must go through a months-long process in the courts and be visited by a social worker before they're considered parents to the children in the eyes of the law.

Ahead of this debate, I met with the petition creator, Adam, and his fiancé, Jamie, and their daughter, B-Eleven, who was born via surrogacy in Connecticut.

I'm pleased to say that Adam and Jamie have joined us in the public gallery today, and while Baby Eleven hasn't joined them, she did make a cameo appearance on our call ahead of this debate. Adam and Jamie are listed as Eleven's parents on her birth certificate in the US, but more than six months after her birth, they still aren't recognized as her legal parents here at home in the UK. That's what prompted Adam to create this petition. And as he said when we met, we're changing Eleven's nappies, we're putting her to bed, we are her parents, we are bringing her up. And yet, he says, babies like her are in a legal limbo under current legislation.

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