Surrogacy is the procedure in which a woman voluntarily agrees to carry a child for parents who are unable to conceive by the method of artificial insemination. The woman carrying the baby may have a genetic link with the baby, or may just be the carrier of the pregnancy when a fertilized embryo is inserted into the uterus. When the mother has a genetic link with the baby, this surrogacy is called traditional surrogacy and the latter is called gestational surrogacy. Surrogate motherhood has many legal and ethical issues involved which are discussed in this article.

Surrogate Motherhood History

Surrogacy has been practiced since ages and is recorded since biblical times. In certain European countries, the kings would opt for surrogacy to bear a son. The woman who gave birth to the son was then made a nanny of all the royal children. The children lived with the king and the queen and were never told of this. It was a very confidential matter in the royal families. Babylonian law permitted women to practice surrogacy to avoid divorces due to infertility. Thus surrogate motherhood is not new to the society.

Surrogate Motherhood Issues

Surrogacy is a type of Assisted Reproductive Techniques, couples can also opt of in vitro fertilization, if they are unable to conceive. Surrogate motherhood is classified into two types. When a woman is paid for surrogacy it is termed as commercial surrogacy otherwise it is termed as altruistic surrogacy. According to surrogate motherhood statistics carried out by various organizations, it is said that many women become surrogate mothers purely to be of help to families who cannot conceive children. The primary reason for most of the surrogate mothers is not money. There are various legal and ethical issues that need to be addressed with respect to this procedure of surrogacy. Legalities of surrogacy are different in different countries. These are discussed in the following section.

Legalities of Surrogacy
Commercial surrogacy is considered illegal in countries such as United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Hungary. In France and Italy, any kind of surrogacy may it be altruistic or commercial, is considered illegal. In the United States surrogacy laws differ for each state. Surrogacy is commonly practiced in Florida and China, but hiring for surrogacy is illegal in the state of New York. In places where surrogacy is legal the surrogate is supposed to sign her maternal right s to the intended mother. The name of the biological father has to be mentioned on the birth certificate. Many states have made it mandatory that a legal contract of surrogacy is signed between the couple and the surrogate mentioning all the terms and conditions of the pregnancy and the birth of the child. The people mentioned in the contract have to seek the services of a legal counsel to see that both the parties abide to the contract and all the clauses mentioned are in compliance with the laws of the state and the country.

Surrogate Motherhood Debate
Many questions arise when we speak of surrogate motherhood. Ethics involved in this practice are questioned by many. Many of them believe that commercial surrogacy is a means of exploiting a woman. It’s a literal hiring of the womb from a woman who due to poor economic conditions is willing to be exploited for monetary purposes. Surrogate motherhood especially the commercial one is only aimed at benefiting the rich, as the cost of surrogacy is very high. On the contrary, there are people who believe that becoming a surrogate mother should be a personal choice. It should not be dealing with money and must be carried out purely out of goodwill. Surrogate motherhood has its own pros and cons discussed below.

Surrogate Motherhood – Pros and Cons

This section will discuss both aspects of surrogacy.

Pros
Surrogacy allows couples who cannot have a family due to reasons such as infertility, experience the joy of having a child. If a friend or family member offers help, surrogacy avoids legal issues that may arise as seen in some commercial surrogacy cases.

Cons
Surrogacy can become difficult for surrogate mothers, when parting with the child they carried. It may be considered as exploitation of women who are not economically strong.

Thus surrogate motherhood is still a debatable and complex issue that has not been resolved. It definitely brings joy to a couple and allows them to experience parenthood. However, this joy cannot be bought at the expense of exploiting another person, it should be a mutual affair which does not create complications later.

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