There is still some controversy about using a surrogate mother for pregnancy with your child. The legal process is also complicated because it ranges from state to state. Even then, whether it’s due to fertility issues or other causes, surrogacy is an option for you. Find out how it works to see if it’s right for you to do it.
What Is a Surrogate Mother?
There Are Two Types:
Traditional Surrogate
It’s a woman who gets artificially inseminated with the baby’s dad’s sperm. They’ll take the baby and deliver it to you and your wife to raise.
A traditional surrogate is the baby’s biological mother. That’s how it was the egg that was fertilized by the father’s sperm. You can also use donor sperms.
Gestational Surrogates
In vitro fertilization (IVF) now makes it possible to collect eggs from the female. Then fertilize them with the sperm of the father. Then position the embryo in the gestational surrogate’s uterus.
The surrogate carries the child until the child borns. They have no genetic relation to the infant because it wasn’t their egg.
The gestational surrogate is named the “birth mother.” However, the biological mother is still the woman whose egg has been fertilized.
In the United States, gestational surrogacy is legally less complex. That’s because both intended parents have genetic links to the infant. As a result, gestational surrogacy has become more popular than traditional surrogates. Around 750 babies are born every year of gestational surrogacy.
The Ethical Issues with Surrogates
Surrogacy is an acceptable procedure if it is a selfless act by a woman. The aim should be to support a couple with whom it is difficult to get a pregnancy. However, measures and guidelines must be to protect all parties and minimize risk.
1. Payment
Several reasons against paying for surrogacy are present. This includes:
- Insults to human dignity
- The human body’s instrumentalization
- Potential exploitation of vulnerable women
- Improper inducement (coercion) of women
When we consider all these arguments, altruistic surrogacy is the only suitable form. Reimbursement of medical costs incurred during pregnancy and directly related pregnancy complications, which is not protected by the national health service or private insurers, should be reimbursed. You may pay the surrogate for pregnancy-related costs and the loss of actual income.
2. Autonomy
By the nature of the arrangement, the two parties involved voluntarily accepted autonomy limits. The deal creates moral obligations for both parties. Since the beginning of pregnancy, they cannot unilaterally change their minds. And in the case of divorce, the original arrangement is still in place. And the commissioning parents will still be the parents. In the case of a commissioning parent’s death before birth, the one with surrogate pregnancy has the first choice. She can keep the child or give it up for adoption.
3. Informed Consent
Generally, when a woman carries a child, there is a legal rule (a presumption). She will take care of the child and bear that moral responsibility. Surrogacy is meant to give birth to an infant for commissioning parents. Therefore, the method means that the one with surrogate pregnancy cannot keep the child’s rights after delivery.
4. The Welfare Of The Future Child Born from Surrogacy
There is no scientific research on such an arrangement’s social and psychological effects. There is no information available, for instance, on the possible confusion in maternal roles. Long-term effects if the surrogate woman stays in touch with the resulting family have not been studied either. Thus, we can not exclude the probability of conflict.
Legal Issues with Surrogates
In the case of surrogacy laws, there are three main legal processes:
- The surrogacy contract
- The pre-birth order
- And, in some cases, the adoption or other post-birth legal procedures
Below, find an overview of these and other legal issues related to surrogacy.
1. Surrogacy Contract
Before the embryo transfer, each surrogate and intending parent must consult with their attorney. They have to draft and negotiate a surrogacy contract.
Every surrogacy contract outlines two big legal issues:
- Finances. The parties’ attorneys will negotiate basic benefits for the surrogate. They will also negotiate additional payments for maternity clothing items. If any complications, such as going to bed rest, the contract should also decide on compensation.
- Social Requirements. The contract would also outline the surrogate’s specific obligations throughout pregnancy. These include abstention of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances, and Other Post-Birth Legal Process.
For certain cases, additional legal measures may take place after a child is born to a surrogate. This is valid of any surrogacy arrangement in which one or both of the intended parents are not genetically related to the infant.
Step-parent adoption is necessary where one parent’s genetic material has been mixed with the donor eggs or sperm. The husband may adopt the genetic child of his wife. Or the wife may adopt her husband’s genetic child. Depending on state law, unmarried same-sex parents can complete a second-parent adoption.
Suppose the intended parents have completed an embryo adoption. And none of them is biologically related to the infant. Then full adoption by all parties is necessary.
If you need a surrogacy adoption, then you must comply with your state of adoption rules. Your attorney will help guide you through a method of formal adoption. It depends on the laws of your state.
The majority of contracts also contain some social agreements. These include attending key prenatal appointments and births.
2. The Pre-Birth Order
The next step of surrogacy is to establish the infant’s intended parents as legal parents legally. This method looks different depending on the laws of the state surrogacy.
The conditions for filing a pre-birth order vary by state. In general, the parents in question would need to compile the following paperwork:
- The physician’s affidavit saying that he has transferred the embryos to the surrogate
- Any social documents designed for surrogacy, including surveys of the intended parents and the surrogate
- Documents signed by the surrogate family to the extent that they intend to revoke any legal rights they have to the infant once he or she is born
The Bottom Line
Scientists need to carry out Long-term research both in the resulting family and in the pregnant mother’s family. The aim is to gain insight into the psychological effect of the arrangement on the child.
The certifying parents should be well aware that the surrogate has the legal right to decide about her pregnancy against her wishes and the original arrangement.
There is a strong need to make the protocol for adoption easy for all. This will lower the surrogacy rates. We should promote altruism and not industrial substitution. The authority should formulate and implement laws to cover grey zones. And to protect women and children’s rights.
