Some surrogates know the couple, and volunteer their services. Others do it simply because they want to help a couple that is childless. Four authors continue, "One woman said, ' I wanted to do something that was out of the ordinary and that made me a little bit special'" (Dooley, McCarthy, Garanis-Papadatos, and Dalla-Yorgia 57). In other cases, the surrogate may be a friend or relative of the couple, and is helping them because they care for them and want to help. There are many motives for surrogacy, and if the motives are good and pure, there is little to argue with or dispute. A doctor who studied the motives of surrogate women notes, "The 'average' surrogate emerges as a white mother with a fair amount of education and income. As a group, they cannot be described as destitute or living in poverty, and do not need the fee being paid them for basic survival. On average, they do not report being under serious financial pressure" (Aigen). Surrogacy in itself can be a valuable aspect of a couple's life and happiness, and it may be the only way some couples can have a child to call their own. It is the issue of payment that is so onerous with surrogacy, and the fact that at least some women become surrogates only for their own monetary gain.
However, there have been cases of women who did not seek monetary gain, and offered their services as surrogates, but then could not go through with it after the baby was born. One case is the case of "Baby Emily." In this case, the two couples were friends, and one couple, the Quinlans, could not have children because Mrs. Quinlan had suffered from uterine cancer and had her uterus removed. Mrs. Simpson, a mother of three, offered to carry the baby for the Quinlins. After the baby was born, however, Mrs. Simpson was not happy with the amount of time she got to spend with the baby, and even attended grief counseling, before she took the baby back and the case went to court. The court ruled in favor of Mrs. Simpson, and after almost two years, the baby was taken from...
This indicates that even agreements without monetary concerns can fall apart, and that can only lead to heartbreak for everyone concerned.
Finally, there is the onus that much of society places on surrogate parenthood. If many people discover the child is the product of a surrogate, they may look at the child or the parents differently. This is not right, a child should not be judged for the actions of a parent, but it can happen. Two authors note people may view it as "fiddling with nature" and as an unnatural way to bring a child into the world (Levinson and Reiss 94).
In conclusion, surrogate motherhood is a good alternative for some people who have no hope of ever having their own child. It is also an alternative for gay and lesbian couples who cannot have children normally. However, surrogacy should not be a business, and women should not be paid for having babies. It can lead to all sorts of problems, both emotional and economic, and having a baby should not be reduced to who can pay for it and who cannot. Having a child is a commitment, and if the mother is not committed to carrying the child, she may not be committed enough to raising a child.
References
Aigen, Dr. Betsy P. "Motivations of Surrogate Mothers." Surrogacy.com. 1996. 13 May 2008. http://www.surrogacy.com/psychres/article/motivat.html
Dooley, Dolores, Joan McCarthy, Tina Garanis-Papadatos, and Panagiota Dalla-Yorgia. Ethics of New Reproductive Technologies: Cases and Questions. New York: Berghahn Books, 2003.
Levinson, Ralph, and Michael J. Reiss, eds. Key Issues in Bioethics: A Guide for Teachers. New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003.
Litz, Steven. "Approximate Expenses." SurrogateMothers.com. 2004. 13 May 2008. http://www.surrogatemothers.com/expense.html
Sather, Trevor, ed. Pros and Cons: A Debater's Handbook. London: Routledge, 1999.
