Os desafios da bioética no direito da parentalidade

: da gestação de substituição à parentalidade trans

Abstract

Technological advances, together with social change, have presented challenges in the conceptualization of pregnancy. However, this change has not been accompanied by the law, a reality which has repercussions in the scope of subjective protection of parental rights, namely access to maternity leave. Thus, by analyzing two bioethical challenges—surrogacy and trans pregnancy—we seek to highlight the significant delay in legislation and case law in promoting the social values of equality and anti-discrimination in the protection of parenthood in employment relationships. Therefore, this text aims to review the main coordinates of European Union and national law regarding the rationale for maternity leave and attempts to briefly understand the operational concepts that describe the universe of surrogacy and trans pregnancy. It highlights the current shortcomings of the regulatory framework of original and secondary European Union law but also emphasizes the mostly positive aspects of the Portuguese legal framework, in order to subsequently discuss which solutions can guarantee greater and more effective protection for these employees.

Date of Award	29 Jul 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Catarina de Oliveira Carvalho (Supervisor)