Surrogate Motherhood

Surrogate motherhood is thought to be a treatment option for infertile mothers or an alternative to adoption (Bagan-Kurluta, 2017). At its face value, surrogacy seems like an attractive alternative for the infertile couple and the surrogate mother as all parties will benefit from the arrangement. The infertile couple will get their long-desired biologically related child, and the surrogate mother will receive much-needed money when paid to carry the pregnancy (Bagan-Kurluta, 2017). According to utilitarianism, there should be maximum happiness and well-being for all the affected individuals. However, this is not the case for surrogate motherhood. The mother is denied the chance to raise the child she had carried through the pregnancy term. There is a feeling of loss and unhappiness experienced by the surrogate mother. The connection between the mother and child is broken after birth, and psychological torture is placed on the child. The child and surrogate mother share a unique bond, disrupted after the child is born, resulting in an emotional disconnection.

The pros for the surrogate mother are surrogacy is rewarding for the surrogate mother since most women offer the service as a gift to another family. Surrogacy allows the surrogate mother to experience pregnancy without having to worry about raising the child (Bagan-Kurluta, 2017). The pregnancy experience benefits the surrogate mother since they can feel like a woman even when they do not have the funds to raise the child. The surrogate mother is fairly compensated for the yearlong commitment they make to carry the child to term.

The cons for the surrogate mother are surrogacy is emotionally challenging and stressful. The stress of pregnancy is compounded with the knowledge that you are carrying someone else's baby (Bagan-Kurluta, 2017). Surrogacy is physically demanding since the surrogate mother must undergo additional screening, go for appointments, and undertake fertility treatment. Surrogacy can be time-consuming as the surrogate mother has to meet with the potential couple, attend legal meetings, undergo medical processes, screening appointments, and commit a whole year to carry the pregnancy to term. Eventually, the surrogate mother only has money to show for the efforts she achieved during the yearlong process of surrogacy.

References

Bagan-Kurluta, K. (2017). Wombs for rent, outsoursed pregnancies, baby farms-ethics and surrogate motherhood. Progress in Health Sciences, 7, 193-198.