Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
5 min of reading 
0 comments 
Proposal in the Senate Changes Rules for Surrogacy, Eliminates the Requirement for Judicial Authorization, and Transfers Civil Registration to the Notary Office, Intensifying the Debate Between Medicine, Religion, and Law on the Limits of Reproductive Autonomy.
The proposal to insert explicit rules on surrogacy into the Civil Code reached the Senate with Bill 4/2025 and redesigns the procedure in Brazil.
The text authorizes the practice without profit, transfers birth registration to administrative procedures, and allows parentage to be defined in advance in a contract, waiving prior judicial authorization.
The initiative returns the issue to the legal field, shifting it from technical resolutions to statutory norms, and reignites the clash between medical entities, religious leaders, and legal professionals.
-
The Senate approves a bill that criminalizes misogyny, hatred, or aversion towards women, and includes the crime in the Racism Law with a penalty of up to 5 years.
-
Chamber Approves Bill That Allows Pepper Spray for Women Over 16 and Imposes Strict Rules for Purchase, Possession, and Use as Self-Defense
-
Chamber Approves Law to Combat Leucaena, Fast-Growing Plant That Dominates Land and Threatens Native Species in Various Regions of the Country
-
Asset Division: Know What Cannot Be Divided in Case of Divorce
The project establishes that the temporary leasing of a uterus may occur when natural pregnancy is unfeasible or advised against for medical reasons.
There is no scope for compensation: the prohibition of profit remains, with preference for the surrogate to have a blood relationship with the beneficiaries.
The arrangement must be finalized before the embryo is implanted, through a public or private instrument, with a clause that explicitly assigns parentage to the authors of the “parental project.”
The novelty lies in the centrality of the document: parenthood becomes anticipated and based on formal consent, bringing predictability to civil registration.
Direct Civil Registration at the Notary Office
The procedure at the notary office is described in detail.
The Civil Registry Official will record the entry in the name of the authors of the parental project upon presentation of the Declaration of Live Birth, the informed consent form signed at the clinic, and the temporary lease agreement of the uterus with the indication of parentage.
The notary office is prohibited from revealing the nature of the surrogacy in the entry.
As a result, the control axis shifts from the Judiciary to the administrative sphere, supported by documentary verification.
Critics see this elimination of the mandatory judicial approval as a sensitive point, especially in situations of greater ethical complexity or indications of undue intermediation.
Rules for Gametes, Confidentiality, and Exceptional Access
In the context of assisted reproduction, the proposal allows donation of gametes without commercialization and requires clinics to inform the National Embryo Production System about births linked to donated genetic material, for future reference by registry offices in checks for marital impediments.
The donor’s confidentiality is preserved; however, the born person may access their biological origin in justified health cases and with judicial authorization.
The text emphasizes that there is no parentage link between the conceived by donation and the gamete donor.
Another provision that raises debate determines that cryopreserved embryos cannot be discarded: they must have a defined destination, such as research or delivery to third parties, which raises bioethical and operational questions in clinics about custody, successive consents, and decision timelines.
Parenthood by Will and Document
The proposed wording does not require beneficiaries to provide their own gametes to establish parenthood.
Parentage arises from the formalized parental project and informed consent.
Experts highlight that the legal framework privileges the volitional and documentary element in defining who is a mother or father, with the potential to reduce subsequent declaratory actions.
Nonetheless, judicial avenues remain open for claims of consent defects and for situations where socio-affectivity is invoked as an element of maintaining ties.
From Regulatory to Law: Change of Standards
Until now, the practice had been governed by resolutions from the Federal Council of Medicine and by administrative regulations of the registry system.
The CNJ Provision 63 already regulated the registration of births in assisted reproduction and, for cases of surrogacy, prohibited the inclusion of the name of the birthing person in the entry.
The Bill 4/2025 shifts these references to the legal level by incorporating the provisions into the Civil Code, which tends to offer more normative density and uniformity to procedures currently resolved by infra-legal acts and recommendations from oversight bodies.
Three Controversy Fronts
In the legal realm, the debate centers on the risk of insecurity arising from open clauses and the discussion regarding the convenience of prior judicial control in specific scenarios, such as when there is no relationship between the donor and beneficiaries or signs of commercial intermediation arise.
The advocacy for additional filters includes, for example, strengthened documentary requirements and the mandatory involvement of the Public Prosecutor in complex cases.
From a bioethical perspective, the tension involves reproductive autonomy, the protection of the woman who leases the uterus, and the interest of the child.
The prohibition of profit aims to curb economic exploitation, but reopens the discussion on the difference between reimbursement of expenses and indirect remuneration, a topic that will require technical regulation and effective oversight.
Meanwhile, the treatment of frozen embryos mobilizes arguments about dignity, proper destination, and compatibility with international practices.
On the cultural and religious front, leaders differ on the limits of technoscience in family formation and the reconciliation between individual freedom, human dignity, and child protection.
Some argue that the law should reflect the plurality of arrangements while simultaneously safeguarding principles against the commodification of the body.
Impacts on the Daily Lives of Families, Clinics, and Notary Offices
For families facing clinical barriers to conceive, the positive enactment into law is seen as a path to predictability and reduced judicialization, especially at the moment of registration.
Clinics will need to strengthen consent routines, document storage, and reporting to the national system, with clear protocols on management and destination of embryos.
In notary offices, the impact is operational: it will be up to the officials to verify the evidentiary set before recording, safeguard confidentiality, and apply the rules of parentage assignment according to the contract.
Legislative Process in the Senate and Points Subject to Adjustments
The legislative process is advancing in the Senate, with a temporary committee appointed to analyze the text and the possibility of adjustments.
Changes may affect the extent of confidentiality, the requirements for leasing by non-relatives, the limits of informed consent, and the details of the registration procedure.
Even if a model without judicial authorization prevails as the rule, the notarial practice will continue to require robust documentation and, in doubtful cases, will raise consultations to oversight bodies for guidance, preserving an institutional safety interface.
-
-
-
-
-
-
19 pessoas reagiram a isso.