From Soft to Hard Paternalism and Back: The Regulation of Surrogate Motherhood in Greece

16 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2009 Last revised: 9 Nov 2009

See all articles by Aristides N. Hatzis

Aristides N. Hatzis

University of Athens - Department of History & Philosophy of Science; National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Faculty of Law; Athens University of Economics and Business - Department of Economics

Date Written: June 28, 2009

Abstract

This paper is a critical analysis of the regulation of surrogate motherhood in Greece; I will discuss the way that a consensus reached in the legislative committee among liberal and conservative jurists on the matter of compensation of surrogate mothers was undermined by intra-party populism in the Greek parliament which banned it to avoid commodification; inevitably the law fell into disuse leading to a new law which allowed government-defined compensation, not the one agreed by the parties; the regulation of surrogate motherhood in Greece is a typical example of the deleterious effects of the combination of legal formalism and legal moralism in contemporary Greece.

Keywords: surrogate motherhood, commodification, legal formalism, legal moralism, legal paternalism, economics of contracts, exploitation, consent, compensation

JEL Classification: I11, J13, K12, K32

Suggested Citation

Hatzis, Aristides N., From Soft to Hard Paternalism and Back: The Regulation of Surrogate Motherhood in Greece (June 28, 2009). Portuguese Economic Journal, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 205-220, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1442869

Aristides N. Hatzis (Contact Author)

University of Athens - Department of History & Philosophy of Science ( email )

University Campus
Ano Ilisia
Athens, 15771
Greece
+30 210 7275565 (Phone)
+30 210 7275530 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.phs.uoa.gr/ahatzis

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Faculty of Law

Athens
Greece

Athens University of Economics and Business - Department of Economics ( email )

Athens
Greece

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