The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Namibia has warned that a lack of surrogacy regulations in the country risks the exploitation of women, following a fraudulent advertisement.
The society’s secretary general, David Emvula, who is also a specialist obstetrician-gynaecologist, has said this in response to a notice circulating online claiming that Maerua Medical Centre is looking for surrogates, offering them N$800 000.
“Considering the amount of poverty, people may get into these contracts and risk their lives to get money. People will make a career of surrogacy,” he says.
Emvula compares unregulated surrogacy to prostitution, where often young people are promised jobs abroad but may end up in brothels against their will.
“People can even traffic them to other countries to be surrogates there,” he says.
Maerua Medical Centre has distanced itself from the notice.
Keletso Nyathi, a medical doctor at the centre, labels the notice “maliciously fabricated” and unauthorised.
“We further state unequivocally that our practice does not advertise for surrogacy, in accordance with the provisions of the Child Care and Protection Act, and any such representation is false.
“We are not offering any financial windfall or cash incentives of this nature, and any such claims are fraudulent and intended to mislead the public,” she says.
The QR code featured in the advertisement leads directly to the centre’s website.
NO LAW
Namibia has no law regulating surrogacy.
International medical ethics generally discourage payment for surrogacy, allowing only reimbursement for medical and related expenses to prevent exploitation.
Former minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula says the legal gap in Namibian law leaves room for the abuse of surrogacy arrangements.
“… including enticement with monetary reward. The absence of a legal framework in Namibia may be due to the fact that it is not a common phenomenon. An amendment to the Child Care and Protection Act is necessary to address this matter,” he says.
Shangula says the act only makes provision for adoption, among other measures to protect children.
“Surrogacy carries legal and emotional ramifications. It is, therefore, necessary to regulate the act. It does not make provision for surrogacy,” he says.
The executive directors of both the health and justice ministries have previously described surrogacy as a personal choice made by individuals facing fertility challenges.
Namibia’s legal framework offers no guidance on surrogacy.
The Legal Assistance Centre in a column in 2018 said surrogacy arrangements have no legal protection.
“This kind of arrangement is not illegal in Namibia, but it also has no legal protection. Parties considering a surrogacy arrangement in Namibia should be warned that it can be a complicated and risky endeavour in the absence of any specific legal regulation,” the column reads.
The centre highlighted potential disputes if a surrogate mother or commissioning parents change their minds, or if payments are made outside ethical guidelines.
Namibia’s Children’s Status Act and Child Care and Protection Act cover adoption and parental rights, but are silent on surrogacy.
The act states that children born through artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilisation are deemed the biological children of the mother, but only in procedures “otherwise than in accordance with a surrogacy agreement”.
Regional trends highlight the risks of unregulated surrogacy.
In Botswana, investigations found that Zimbabwean domestic workers had been recruited as surrogates under covert arrangements, leaving them with no legal recourse.
By contrast, South Africa regulates surrogacy under Chapter 19 of the Children’s Act, requiring pre-approved agreements, prohibiting payments beyond expenses, and granting parental rights to commissioning parents from birth.
The legal gaps in Namibia became evident in 2023 with the case of Namibian citizen Phillip Lühl and his husband, Guillermo Delgado.
The couple legally arranged a surrogacy in South Africa, where commissioning parents are recognised from birth.
When they attempted to register one of their children in Namibia, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security refused, demanding DNA proof of paternity despite one parent being Namibian.
The High Court initially ruled in favour of the couple, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision on procedural grounds.
Questions sent to the Ministry of Health and Social Services were referred to the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations.
Attempts to get comments from the ministry were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
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