Russia will soon pass legislation prohibiting foreigners from hiring Russian women as surrogate mothers.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, made the announcement on Mother’s Day.
Paid surrogacy is legal in Russia, but religious groups have criticised the practise for commercialising childbirth.
“Everything must be done to protect children by prohibiting foreigners from using the surrogacy service,” Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. “We will make this decision at the beginning of December.”
He said about 45,000 babies born by surrogate mothers have been taken abroad in the past few years. “Child trafficking is unacceptable,” he added.
Russian lawmakers passed the bill nearly unanimously in its first reading in May.
If passed in the final, third, reading, it will be reviewed by the upper house of parliament and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.