Surrogate parenting: ethical, legal, and social considerations

Surrogate Parents

For many infertile couples, the assistance of a surrogate mother represents one last hope for becoming a genetic parent. They thus turn to surrogate mothers, or women who bear children for couples who cannot become parents through normal pregnancy and childbirth (Gentry). With careful preparation on both sides, surrogate parenting can be a viable option for couples to conceive a child and add to their family.

For many critics, the concept of a surrogate parent still retains the tinges of the 1986 Baby M. case, where the surrogate mother refused to give the baby to the intended parents. Others charge that this practice provides another opportunity for couples to exploit poor women.

However, statistics show that the practice of surrogacy is steadily growing. Figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) show that there were 1,210 attempts at surrogacies in the year 2000, doubling the figure from 1997 (Hamilton). Since 1976, experts estimate that from 15,000 to 16,000 babies have been born through surrogate mothers in the United States alone (Kornreich).

The rising popularity of surrogate parenting stems in part from new technology. In the Baby M. case, the surrogate mother was also the biological mother, because she was artificially inseminated with the intended father's sperm. Today, however, 95% of these types of pregnancy involve "gestational surrogacy," where the intended parents sperm and egg are used to create an embryo, that is then implanted into the surrogate's uterus. Though more expensive than traditional surrogacy, this type also insures that the intended parents are genetically related to their child (Gentry).

For many surrogate mothers, the fact that the baby they are carrying is not their genetic child makes it easier to think of themselves as helpers or "aunts." Though many people worry of another Baby M. case, statistics show that out of 15,000 to 16,000 surrogate births, there were only 23 cases where the surrogate mother refused to relinquish the baby. Most of these cases were largely attempts to negotiate better payment terms. Reproductive law specialist Andrew Vorzimer adds that in most cases, the courts ruled in favor of the intended parents (Katz).

New techniques of matching a surrogate mother and the intended parents have also given surrogates a more respected role in the process. After all, despite the compensation package, surrogate mothers rarely agree simply because of the money. Instead, they are women who have had children of their own, and are motivated by a desire to help other, childless couples. As a surrogate mother states, "those children needed me to walk them across a bridge to their parents" (Glazer).

Other critics charge that couples who opt for surrogate mothers are merely selfish people who do not want to face the inconvenience or discomforts of a pregnancy. Such criticism, however, is unfounded. Most couples that opt for this technology have already been trying for years to get pregnant, through a variety of means. This includes Marla Cullington, who could not get pregnant due to fibroid tumors in her uterus. Like most mothers, Cullington declares that she "would give anything to be carrying (her) babies" (cited in Glazer).

Also, the vast majority of physicians who specialize in reproductive endocrinology would not work with intended parents unless there is a clear evidence of medical need (Glazer).

The cost alone is enough to discourage all but the most motivated parents. Though the expenses vary, many specialists agree that a couple could spend up to $65,000 in surrogate fees, hormone treatments, agency/lawyer fees and other related expenses (Kornreich).

Also, in addition to infertile couples, the technique of surrogate parenting helps other people have families as well. Gay couples and single women are among the other people who have used surrogacy to become parents.

Finally, a study by British psychologists has shown that couples who achieve parenthood through surrogacy exhibit better parenting skills than many parents who have children on their own. The study, the first scientific research on the effects of surrogacy, found that such families "are generally closer and better adjusted than those begun in conventional fashion" (cited in Gardner).