Unmarried women will have the right to surrogacy provided they are unable to conceive due to medical problems according to the draft bill approved by cabinet on Wednesday.

The bill aims at modernising and improving the legislative framework for medically assisted reproduction, the deputy government spokeswoman Niovi Parissinou said in a written statement after the session.

According to the bill, unmarried women wishing to have a child with assisted reproductive technology – such as IVF – will no longer be required to obtain a licence from the Council for Medical Assisted Human Reproduction as part of their application process.

But surrogacy, which is also provided for unmarried women in the bill, is excluded from this provision and unmarried women will require the permission of the council to proceed with a surrogacy. This right is offered only to women who are unable to conceive due to serious and specific medical problems.

Moreover, the maximum age of natural reproductive capacity of an assisted woman is set as 53 years.

The bill, expected to be submitted to parliament, also regulates donor anonymity issues.