Fertility Law Changes in Europe: 2024-2026 Tracker

Last updated: March 2026

European fertility law changed more in the last two years than in the previous decade. Italy made surrogacy a criminal offence for its citizens, anywhere in the world. France ended 50 years of donor anonymity. Greece raised its IVF age limit to 54 and then banned surrogacy for gay men. Austria’s Constitutional Court struck down the egg freezing ban. Belgium is ending compulsory donor anonymity. The EU’s highest court ruled that same-sex marriages must be recognized across borders.

This page tracks every confirmed change since January 2024. We update it as new legislation passes or court rulings are issued.

Last updated: March 2026. See our main fertility laws overview for the full country-by-country picture.

Timeline

2024

February 2024: Greece legalizes same-sex marriage Law 5089/2024 passed with 176 votes to 76 on 15 February 2024, signed by President Sakellaropoulou. Greece became the first Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage. The law allows joint legal parentage through adoption but does not extend co-parental rights for surrogacy-born children (NBC News; Oxford Human Rights Hub).

April 2024: Germany expert commission recommends legalizing egg donation On 15 April 2024, the Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine published its final report. Key conclusion: the egg donation ban under the Embryonenschutzgesetz (1990) is “not constitutionally required.” The commission found “no overriding medical or psychological risks that speak against legalisation” but noted a simple repeal would not suffice; a new Reproductive Medicine Act (Fortpflanzungsmedizingesetz) would need to be drafted. No legislation has been introduced as of March 2026 (Library of Congress).

July 2024: Ireland passes AHR Act The Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 (Act No. 18 of 2024) was signed on 2 July 2024. It establishes the AHRRA (Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority), Ireland’s first dedicated fertility regulator. No eligibility ban on single women or same-sex couples. Provides for second intending mother registration on birth certificates for donor-conceived children (Irish Statute Book). Ireland went from having no fertility legislation at all to having one of the most modern frameworks on the continent. Sometimes arriving late means you skip the mistakes everyone else made.

August 2024: EU SoHO Regulation adopted The Regulation on standards of quality and safety for Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) was adopted in August 2024 and becomes applicable in August 2027. New EU-wide safety and quality standards for gametes, embryos, and other human-origin substances. Replaces the older EU Tissue and Cells Directives (European Commission). This is the plumbing layer that most patients will never hear about but that governs how their eggs and embryos are handled, stored, and transported across borders.

October 2024: Italy criminalizes surrogacy abroad The Italian Senate passed the law with an 84-58 vote, making surrogacy a “universal crime” (reato universale). Italian nationals who arrange surrogacy anywhere in the world face up to 2 years imprisonment and a €1 million fine. Surrogacy was already banned domestically since Legge 40/2004. The law was pushed by PM Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party (Euronews; NPR).

Italy already banned egg and sperm donor compensation (Civio, 2022). The country’s fertility law trajectory is consistently restrictive. Legge 40/2004 originally banned gamete donation, limited embryo creation to three, and required simultaneous transfer of all embryos. The Constitutional Court struck down the gamete donation ban in 2014 (Ruling 162/2014) and the three-embryo limit earlier, but the legislature keeps adding new restrictions.

October 2024: UK raises egg donor compensation HFEA increased egg donor compensation from £750 to £985 per cycle, effective 1 October 2024. The first increase since 2011. Sperm donor compensation also increased from £35 per visit to £45. Additional documented expenses can be claimed on top (HFEA; PET).

2025

January 2025: Denmark legalizes ROPA for all lesbian couples ROPA (Reception of Oocytes from Partner, also called reciprocal IVF) was previously available in Denmark only when one partner had a medical indication. From 1 January 2025, ROPA is available to all lesbian couples without medical justification. No marriage requirement (Cryos International; The Local DK).

January 2025: Switzerland announces egg donation reform On 30 January 2025, the Swiss Federal Council announced plans for a full overhaul of the Reproductive Medicine Act (FMedG) to legalize egg donation. Background: the National Council voted 107-57 in March 2022 and the Council of States approved in September 2022. The Federal Council’s legislative proposal is expected by end of 2026, after which stakeholder consultations begin. A survey found 73% of Swiss support legalization (PET; PMC).

March 2025: France completes donor anonymity transition After 31 March 2025, only gametes from consenting (identity-release) donors may be used in France. This deadline implements the Loi n° 2021-1017 du 2 août 2021. The transition period ran from September 2022 to March 2025. Over 100,000 anonymized sperm straws existed at end of 2022; fewer than 30,000 remained by December 2024. New consenting-donor stocks exceeded 100,000 by December 2024. On 6 March 2025, the Ministry of Health clarified that embryos created from anonymous gametes would be preserved, not destroyed. The CAPADD commission had received 701 admissible donor identity requests by 31 January 2025 (Agence de la biomédecine).

April 2025: Greece bans surrogacy for gay men and single men An amendment to Article 1458 of the Greek Civil Code clarified that “the concept of inability to carry a pregnancy does not refer to an inability arising from one’s gender.” Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis announced the amendment on 1 April 2025. Legal experts have flagged potential ECHR violations under Articles 8 (private/family life) and 14 (discrimination), citing precedents in Vallianatos v Greece (2013) and X and Others v Austria (2013) (Greek Reporter; ICLG).

Greece also enacted a surrogacy residency requirement in May 2025 under Law 5197/2025 (Article 46): both the intended mother and the surrogate must legally reside in Greece.

October 2025: Austria’s Constitutional Court strikes down egg freezing ban On 6 October 2025, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that the total ban on “social egg freezing” (non-medical oocyte cryopreservation) in the FMedG is unconstitutional, violating Article 8(1) ECHR (right to private and family life). The provision is repealed with effect deferred to 1 April 2027 to give the legislature time to create a new framework (Library of Congress; The Local AT).

This ruling addressed egg freezing specifically. Single women’s exclusion from IVF remains in force under the FMedG, though the reasoning in this ruling (disproportionate restriction on reproductive autonomy under ECHR Article 8) could apply to future challenges.

November 2025: EU Parliament condemns surrogacy The European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning surrogacy as “reproductive exploitation” in November 2025. The resolution is non-binding. It does not create obligations for member states. The European Parliament had previously taken varied positions on surrogacy; this resolution reflected the political direction of the current Parliament composition (European Parliament Briefing, EPRS_BRI(2025)769508).

November 2025: CJEU rules on same-sex marriage recognition (Trojan judgment) Case C-713/23 (Cupriak-Trojan and Trojan v Wojewoda Mazowiecki). The Grand Chamber ruled on 25 November 2025 that EU Member States may not refuse to recognize a same-sex marriage lawfully concluded in another Member State where the couple exercised freedom of movement. Refusal violates Articles 20 and 21(1) TFEU and Articles 7, 9, and 21(1) of the EU Charter. Member states need not legalize same-sex marriage domestically but cannot use procedural obstacles to deny recognition. Directly affects Poland (the defendant), plus Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Lithuania (FRA; ILGA-Europe).

2026

February 2026: Belgium approves end of compulsory donor anonymity On 27 February 2026, the federal cabinet approved Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke’s proposal to abolish compulsory donor anonymity (first proposed 26 November 2025). Under the new framework: children access non-identifying info at 12 and identifying info (name, nationality) at 16. Six-month transition period for clinics to use existing anonymous stocks. Not retroactive: existing donors will be contacted but cannot be forced to waive anonymity (PET; Belga News Agency).

Pending / Expected

The Pattern

Two trends are running simultaneously in opposite directions.

Western and Northern Europe are expanding access: France opened IVF to single women and lesbian couples (2021). Norway legalized egg donation (2021). Denmark expanded ROPA (2025). Ireland created its first fertility regulator (2024). Belgium is ending donor anonymity. Switzerland is moving toward legalizing egg donation.

Southern and Eastern Europe are restricting or standing still: Italy criminalized surrogacy abroad (2024). Greece banned surrogacy for gay men (2025). Slovakia banned all surrogacy via constitutional amendment. Poland restored IVF funding but still restricts access to heterosexual couples.

The EU institutions are caught between: the CJEU’s Trojan judgment enforces marriage recognition across borders, while the Parliament condemns surrogacy. The proposed parentage recognition regulation would help same-sex families but requires unanimous Council approval, which means any single member state can block it.

If you’re planning fertility treatment in Europe, check the date on any guide you’re reading. The law you researched six months ago may not be the law today.

Full country comparison: Fertility Laws in Europe | Egg donation rules: Egg Donation Laws | LGBTQ access: LGBTQ Fertility | Ready to start? Enquiry