The State Duma, in its initial reading, advanced a bill that would make maternity capital available to fathers whose children are born to surrogate mothers. This development comes from official channels of the lower house of Russia’s parliament, signaling a potential shift in how state support programs are allocated within the family law framework.
In December 2021, a bill was submitted to the State Duma proposing an expansion of the group eligible for maternity capital. The explanatory note accompanying the initiative argued that current support measures largely target Russian women, and that the right to maternity capital for men has traditionally depended on the woman’s status and only applies in a few limited circumstances. The authors of the proposal contended that eligibility should be broadened to include men who are legally recognized as single fathers by the person acknowledged as the child’s father, thereby extending the resource to a wider set of family situations.
Parliamentarians described the proposed revision as a way to ensure that state support more accurately reflects contemporary family structures. The bill would extend the right to additional state aid to men recognized as single parents, including those whose child is born to them or through surrogacy arrangements. The intention is that from January 1, 2007, and upon the birth of the first child, a man meeting the single-parent criterion could access maternity capital under the same conditions as mothers. The explanatory note clarifies that a surrogate mother who marries and raises children with her spouse as of January 1, 2020 would also be encompassed by the measure, aligning the benefits with families formed through modern parenting paths.
The initiative also contemplates mechanisms for transferring the right to receive maternity capital from the father to the mother or directly to the child should the father die, or in cases where a crime against the child has occurred, leading to a restriction of parental rights. It is noted that the surviving spouse may reside in a foreign state without disqualifying the family’s eligibility for these benefits, reflecting a recognition of international or cross-border family arrangements that may arise in Russia’s diverse society.
Additionally, the bill sets out provisions for equal distribution of the right to additional state support between spouses and the child or children in the event of the death of either parent. It also specifies that the loss of parental rights due to criminal actions against the child would not invalidate the family’s future claims to the benefits, as long as the parent’s involvement does not obstruct the child’s welfare. These clauses underscore the committee’s emphasis on preserving the child’s best interests while addressing complex family dynamics and ensuring fair access to aid across different configurations of joint parenthood.
Earlier reports indicated that the Duma Council had put on hold a separate proposal to bar citizens of hostile countries from adopting children from the Russian Federation. That measure, distinct from the maternity capital expansion, would have addressed a different policy area and may still be revisited in future sessions depending on broader geopolitical considerations and domestic policy priorities. The current discourse around maternity capital, however, centers on the inclusivity of the program for men who are the recognized parents, whether by birth, adoption, or surrogacy arrangements, and how the state should define eligibility criteria in a rapidly evolving society [Source: State Duma records].