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Should surrogate motherhood be allowed
Gestational surrogacy and ethical issues
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A Surrogate Mother is defined as “an adult woman who enters into an agreement to bear a child conceived through assisted conception for intended parents.”
The couple is usually referred to as intended parents who enter into an agreement providing that they will be the parents of a child born to a surrogate through assisted conception, using an egg or sperm of at least one parent.
1 RIGHT - Surrogate motherhood is a right entitled to those who are ready and able to take on the responsibility of parenthood. Surrogate mothers fills a fundamental human longing. Procreation is a primitive instinct, and to many people it is devastating not to be able to become parents Surrogate motherhood is a solution to this age-old problem. Even in the bible, Abraham and Sarah resorted to a "surrogate mother" that produced their son Ishmael.
2NEED – Surrogate motherhood fills a need for infertile couples. 2.4 million infertile married American couples. It is estimated that one in six couples are affected by some degree of infertility. Many people are marrying later and are delaying having children. After age 45, about 95% of women are unable to conceive on their own. Surrogate mothers also fill the need for non-traditional families including the gay and lesbian population as well as single heterosexuals.
ISSUES OF COMMERCIAL SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD
Although compensation might not be the main motive for surrogacy, by making compensation illegal, it may decrease the amt. of surrogates available
Some people may refer to surrogate motherhood as “baby selling” but surrogate mothers are not selling the child – they are just providing a service
Medical Ethics professor at University of Texas stated, “ Baby selling is you have a born child that is sold to another person. Here we’re talking about agreements made before conception has even occurred where there is no existing child. Secondly, the genes, in the case of gestational surrogacy, are being provided by the couple that is hiring the surrogate, thus, in a sense, it is their genetic child.”
-the fee paid to the surrogate mother is not for the baby – it compensates her for her time and effort, initiating and carrying the pregnancy, giving birth, accepting the risks of pregnancy and childbirth (pain, depression, sleep disturbances), and possible loss of employment opportunities
This $$ is often times seen as a gift to r...
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...inancial
REBUTTAL
Children’s Reaction – my parents really wanted me or “I could have had a disease”
Only 1% of all surrogate mothers change their mind and want to keep the baby as compared to 75% of birth mothers who change their minds in a traditional adoption
The people who have struggled so hard to conceive their own child are probably the best candidates to be good parents, not the worst
The American Fertility Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have recognized infertility as a disease. The statutes that are designed allow the surrogacy option only for those who are affected with a medically recognized disability.
Baby M – a psychological examination showed that Mary Beth Whitehead would have a problem giving up the child, but he agency handling the transaction did not bother to read the report.
$$$ - some agencies require that their surrogate applicants have some minimum family income level before being accepted into their program.
$$$Money is a motivation just like it would be in other situations in which people are paid to be surrogate parents (nannies, workers in day care centers, foster parents, and teachers in elementary schools)
Surrogate pregnancy was talked about and questioned in the early 1970’s but was not put into practice until 1976. The first case documented actually comes from the bible. It was the story of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah talks about her experience with infertility. She then turns to Hagar, her handmaiden, and asks her if she would carry their child for them since she was unable to. Hagar was their maid so in a way it was a command, not exactly a favor or question.
..., Legal ,Moral & International Perspectives on Surrogate Motherhood: The Call for A Uniform regulatory Scheme in The United States, Depaul Journal of Health Care Law Vol.2:557,pp585
Aside from including medical complications, there are psychological risks for the surrogate, future psychological risks of the child, lack of trust between surrogate and intended parents, etc. Women may have psychological reactions when being surrogate mothers that include depression when surrendering the child, grief, and even refusal to release the child. This can be seen in the iconic Baby M case. In the Baby M case, a traditional surrogacy was arranged between the Sterns and Mary Beth Whitehead. All went smoothly until the last few months of the pregnancy, when Whitehead began acting on her own. After bearing the child, she had a very difficult time surrendering the baby, and returned the next day saying she was suicidal because of it. (Baby M and Mary Beth Whitehead. Surrogate Pregnancy in Court) She threatened to kill herself and the baby if she didn’t get to keep her. Whitehead had kept the baby for months after childbirth while the trial was taking place. There was an ongoing struggle between Whitehead and Mr. Stern, the two biological parents each wanting custody, and they developed a sort of odd relationship, acting as though they are a couple. In the testimony, Whitehead and Stern discuss the fate of “their” baby, completely disregarding Mrs. Stern, who was the intended mother. (Surrogacy: Baby M) The issue with traditional surrogacy is that the intended mother has no biological nor physical tie with the child. It can cause an identity issue for the child and problems in the future for the parents, saying that only one of the intended parents is actually biologically related to the child. The technological solution to that problem is gestational surrogacy, but that has issues of its own. Gestational surrogacy involves a surrogate implanted with the fertilized egg(s) of the intended parents through IVF. IVF has its own list of ethical issues and risks, but for the sake of simplicity, IVF involves some medical risks.
I would have said that it was a generous and thoughtful act of kindness for a surrogate to be willing to help a couple bring a child into this world. I would have never thought deeply about some of the moral and ethical aspects of surrogacy, until now. I have been married for almost four years, and I believe in the unity of marriage and the idea of becoming one. After reading Cahill’s argument on surrogacy, and reflected on my own moral values, I immediately took a stance to agree with her. I believe that when it comes to a child, the best interest of the child should be a top priority. I am not a mother, but I am very passionate about children, and find their lives to be so precious. Parents should always have the child’s best interest in mind when making choices regarding their child’s life. A surrogate may be doing it as an act of kindness, and that may be her intention. However, I agree that surrogacy brings a dualistic element to the relationship. I know that as a married woman I would never hire a surrogate to bear my child, nor be a surrogate to carry someone else’s child. I want children, but I would never want to be treated as the means to an end, and I would not want my child to be considered a commodity. I strongly agree with Cahill in that a binding moral obligation does come with certain choices, even if we did not choose them in the first
Many couples who are infertile can not handle the financial responsibility of multiple children. If a couple has seven children in one pregnancy, the financial strain can lead to chaos. There were only three sets of living septuplets in the United States in 1997, according to the Knight-Ridder's journalist Tracy A.
The advancement and continued developments of third-party assisted reproductive medical practices has allowed many prospective parents, regardless of their marital status, age, or sexual orientation, to have a new opportunity for genetically or biologically connected children. With these developments come a number of rather complex ethical issues and ongoing discussions regarding assisted reproduction within our society today. These issues include the use of reproductive drugs, gestational services such as surrogacy as well as the rights of those seeking these drugs and services and the responsibilities of the professionals who offer and practice these services.
Many aspiring foster parent anticipated the increase in their expenses once they added a member in their family but one thing that surprised many is that there is a upfront cost that they will need to pay before they received their adoptee. “You may be shocked to learn that there are few costs to adopting a child. Or you may be surprised to discover that not every adoption costs thousands of dollars.” (financing). Theres is no recruitment agency that will cover that cost not even the government. And I think some people who planned to adopt and once they realized the cost that they need to pay first, they back out and the will keep the children in the foster care and that’s why we have a lot of kids there. The organization that I chose helps the potential foster parents to understand their options to how they can afford to
different from the surrogacy that we used to learned in the class. To be able to get pregnant,
Watson, S.L. (2008). Something you have to do – Why do parents of children with
Surrogacy is becoming extremely popular as a way for people to build their families and women to have a source of income. Many people have various reasons for their opposition to it whether it be by comparing it to prostitution or disagreeing with how military wives take advantage of the Tricare insurance. Lorraine Ali states in her article “The Curious Lives of Surrogates” that one of the more popular reasons to oppose surrogacy is that it contradicts, “what we’ve always thought of as an unbreakable bond between mother and child.” However, a woman’s inability to conceive her own children does not determine the absence of a mother to child bond.
Gestational surrogacy, especially when it involves commercial surrogates, challenges the status quo in the ethical theory of reproduction, because with this technology the process of producing a child can no longer remain a private matter. Now a public contract exists between two parties, the couple and the surrogate ...
Commercial surrogacy respects the feminist theory as it allows women to be heard and considers their feelings and relationships. Commercial surrogacy overcomes oppression by returning power to surrogates, defeating the patriarchal society and providing autonomy. Commercial surrogacy also tackles the issue of potentially exploiting women by protecting surrogates and, addressing the risks of surrogacy. There are many ethical issues surrounding women and the feminist theory can be a powerful tool in determining moral
Arguments against commercial surrogacy typically revolve around the idea that surrogacy is a form of child-selling. Critics believe that commercial surrogacy violates both women’s and children’s rights. In addition, by making surrogacy contracts legally enforceable, courts will follow the contract rather than choose what is best for the child. However, in her article “Surrogate Mothering: Exploring Empowerment” Laura Pudry is not convinced by these arguments.
Commercial surrogacy commodifies children because by paying the surrogate mother to give up her child, they treat the child as an object of exchange or commodity that can be bought and sold. As any business transaction, the parents give money for the exchange of an object, the child. The parents get their desired child and the mother gets the money, but what about what thee child think about this event? The parents and surrogate mother’s action were done with self-interest. It could be argued that they wanted the best for the child. However, the first priority in the intentional procreation of the child was not the welfare of the child but rather to give it up to the parents in exchange of money. Additionally, women’s labor is commodified because the surrogate mother treats her parental rights as it was a property right not as a trust. In other words, the decisions taken concerning the child are not done primarily for the benefit of the child. The act of the mother relenting her parental rights is done for a monetary price. She disposes of her parental rights, which are to be managed for the welfare of the owner, as if they were property right, which are to be handled for personal
Most young people envision their future in the realm of getting married and creating a family. One of the most devastating things that can happen to a young couple is to be told they cannot have children. There are several options the couple can pursue, and one of those options available is surrogacy. Society today is torn on whether or not surrogacy should be legal in today’s world. Surrogacy is very controversial for many people around the world, and opinions are strong on the subject. Surrogacy is defined as the utilization of a third party female in order for a infertile family to create a biological child for their family. Legalized surrogacy is important to many couples as an option of creating the family they have always dreamed