O&G Cases · Reproductive endocrinology & infertility — third-party reproduction
Counselling a couple pursuing surrogacy — communication station
Communication and ethics station: counselling a gay couple on the ANZ altruistic-only surrogacy framework, the legal exposure of an overseas commercial arrangement, the post-birth parentage pathway, and the welfare-of-the-child and counselling gates. Tests rapport, respect, communication and applied ethics against the eight RANZCOG oral domains. Includes assessor key and marking domains.
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Station brief
Format. Communication and ethics station, approximately 12 minutes. You are the fertility registrar. A simulated patient plays one partner (driving the commercial option); the assessor may voice the other partner's uncertainty. [7]
Candidate instruction. Counsel the couple on whether and how they can build a family through surrogacy in Australia, address the overseas commercial option they have found, and outline the legal, ethical and welfare-of-the-child framework. Use plain language, invite questions, and respect their autonomy while making the legal exposure explicit. [2]
References6ShowHide
- [1]Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Practice Committee for the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Guidance regarding gamete and embryo donation Fertil Steril, 2021.PMID 33838871
- [2]Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Informing offspring of their conception by gamete or embryo donation: an Ethics Committee opinion Fertil Steril, 2018.PMID 29605404
- [7]Shenfield F, Tarlatzis B, Baccino G, Bounartzi T, Frith L, Pennings G, Provoost V, Vermeulen N, Mertes H Ethical considerations on surrogacy Hum Reprod, 2025.PMID 39865605
- [9]Söderström-Anttila V, Wennerholm UB, Loft A, Pinborg A, Aittomäki K, Romundstad LB, Bergh C Surrogacy: outcomes for surrogate mothers, children and the resulting families-a systematic review Hum Reprod Update, 2016.PMID 26454266
- [19]Kneebone E, Beilby K, Hammarberg K Experiences of surrogates and intended parents of surrogacy arrangements: a systematic review Reprod Biomed Online, 2022.PMID 35909052
- [20]Fauser BCJM, Adamson GD, Boivin J, Chambers GM, de Geyter C, Dyer S, Inhorn MC, Schmidt L, Serour GI, Tarlatzis B, Zegers-Hochschild F Declining global fertility rates and the implications for family planning and family building: an IFFS consensus document based on a narrative review of the literature Hum Reprod Update, 2024.PMID 38197291