Surrogacy

Surrogacy

The first section of the compilation talks about what the definition of surrogacy is and two famous cases, Baby M and Johnson v Calvert, surrounding the controversy and the lack of laws and legal involvement in the matter. This section asserts that in both of these rulings, the courts takes a case-by-case approach in dealing with the issue of surrogacy, therefore making the area grey and uncertain. There is no clear-cut approach in surrogacy and everyone has to just hope the process goes according to plan.

I do not agree with surrogacy for religious and moral reasons. I believe that God blesses those with children whom He feels should have children, which is why some people are not able to conceive children. That is why there is no guarantee with surrogacy—because that decision is ultimately up to God. Man can only manipulate life to a limited extent, but God is the only true giver and taker of life and that is what I believe. With that being said, I understand that everyone does not feel as I do, and I believe that women should have the right to choose what they want to do with their own bodies. Surrogacy is a very sensitive issue because such medical and technological advances are being made causes the process to become more like a manufacturing of a baby for monetary gain and that brings up moral questions. I also believe that these technological will force more legislation and regulation in surrogacy because there needs to be lines drawn within this area as to what can and cannot be done. Further research needs to be on this issue so proper counseling and support for the people involved can be provided.

Is Surrogacy Moral?

This section deals with the moral issues that can arise in the issue of surrogacy. The issues that arise are whether the act exploits women who may use surrogacy as a means of making money because they are economically unstable. It also touches on how the women may not be able to handle giving up their baby, and that there can be complications about who is the actual mother of the child when the surrogate doesn’t want to give up the baby. The article also talks about how it can be problematic for the child if they want to know about their birth mother, if the birth mother wants visitation rights or wants to be a part of the child’s life. The most disturbing issue that was mentioned was the stress that may occur if the child is born with a disability and neither party wants to have the baby. These are just some of the moral issues that are involved.

I do not look down on those who want to have children but can’t conceive and would like the help of a surrogate, I believe that it is natural to want to do whatever you can to have the things you want in life. The problem arises when we begin to have babies to use as bone marrow donors for their own siblings. Who’s to say that people won’t start having babies to make them slaves, or prostitutes which are things that happen even now. But if it falls under the umbrella of “surrogacy” what can you do? As I said there are so many risks involved with surrogacy because man does not have all of the answers. After spending 50,000 dollars, you still might not have a child. Or the child may be born with a disability. I don’t believe it’s worth it when there are plenty of children in foster homes who need a home.

Surrogacy Laws: State-By-State

This section gives an account of what states permit and prohibit surrogacy, and what whether they recognize contracts and allow compensation.

There needs to be state laws that are consistent in order to regulate surrogacy and to make sure that people are aware of the laws. The states should be in agree as to whether they will legalize surrogacy or not and if they are to what extent. Over half of the states have unclear views and consensus on how the issue should be handled. That is dangerous because there is a human life involved throughout the process. Some states allow monetary compensation although I believe all of these agreements involve compensation or reimbursement of some sort. So me states allow gestational and some don’t. Whenever there is confusion and lack of law, there will be confusion amongst the people and result in more and more cases that need clarification and rulings.

Curious Lives of Surrogates

This article goes inside the lives of surrogate mothers and discovers that a large amount of surrogate mothers are not poor, scheming women who have no morals, at least the ones that go through the agencies aren’t. Surrogate mothers from all over are interviewed explaining their joy about being surrogate mothers. They explain how excited they are to give a gift to individuals who want children, but are unable to have them. They explain feeling very liberated and fulfilled by the act and that they attend support groups that help them through the process. The article also talks about how there are sometimes issues of control, resulting in the soon-to-be parents sometimes demanding quite a bit from the surrogate. I think that is why sometime there are problems. I believe sometimes the intended parents (IPs) over exert their power and the surrogate gets frustrated and ignores or dismisses the IPs requests at which point they withhold money. I think the surrogates and the IPs should go to counseling because the experience can have a long lasting affect on the surrogate. I also think that there should be legislation that requires everyone to go through a surrogate agency and participate in an extensive background check. In addition, there should be guidelines that are laid out before the contract is signed in order to ensure there are no discrepancies. I don’t know how many dissatisfied surrogate mothers there are for every satisfied one, but I think the first step in making the lines of the issue more black-and-white is first determining whether surrogacy will be legalized and after that, how it will be regulated in order to ensure the best interest of all parties involved are ensured.