Sentences handed down to participants of human trafficking scheme in the field of reproduction
Kyiv • UNN
Two clinic managers and a lawyer were sentenced to suspended sentences for human trafficking in the field of reproduction.
Two clinic managers and a lawyer received suspended sentences, but more than 10 participants in the scheme were reported.
UNN writes with reference to the press service of the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office .
Participants in the reproductive human trafficking scheme received court sentences: two employees of medical clinics and a lawyer were sentenced to 5 years in prison with a probationary period of 3 years.
According to the Kyiv prosecutor's office, the indictment against the organizer of the scheme and other accomplices will be sent to court in the coming days. The case involves 12 defendants in a human trafficking scheme in the field of reproduction.
How the scheme looked like
The criminal group has been operating since at least 2019.
They were looking for Ukrainian women with financial difficulties to serve as surrogate mothers, mostly in the Kharkiv region. In Kyiv, a reproductive clinic that provided the medical part created embryos and implanted them in surrogate mothers.
So far, it has been proven that 10 children were born to surrogate mothers for same-sex couples and taken to EU countries. The scheme had been in operation for at least 4 years.
At least 40 children have been taken since 2019.
Important
The Kyiv Prosecutor's Office also notes that Ukrainian law allows for the use of a surrogate mother. But only for couples who, for health reasons, cannot become parents without medical assistance. That is, it should be exclusively husband and wife (spouses).
