Ethical Issue:
Should surrogate mothers get paid?
Facts:
Surrogacy is a process in which another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for someone else. The surrogate mother usually does the process for a relative or friend, sometimes as an act of kindness for a random couple, but never for the gain of affluence. Financial gain is an illegal reason for becoming a surrogate mother in some areas, and is also highly looked down upon. Although, compensation can range from $39,450-$52,450 , the process should only be done with the morals of kindness and selflessness.
Stakeholders/Values:
Stakeholders of surrogacy are the intended parents and the surrogate mother. The values of surrogacy would be selflessness, the desire to help others, family, and generosity. An applicant must have these values in order to be eligible to be a surrogate mother,
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One abuse of surrogate compensation is it being motivation. It would be morally wrong for the compensation to cause you to want to be a surrogate mother. Another abuse of surrogate compensation is blackmailing by the genetic mother. For example, the genetic mother could want the surrogate mother to do certain things during pregnancy. If the surrogate mother says no, the genetic mother could use the compensation against the surrogate mother and say they won’t receive compensation if their orders aren’t followed.
Agree Or Disagree:
I agree that surrogate mothers should receive compensation for surrogacy. One reason is because it covers all of the appointment and clinic fees, plus some of the costs for food, because they will have to eat greater portions to keep her and the baby healthy. Another reason I believe surrogate mothers should be paid for surrogacy is because it is a lot of emotional and physical stress on the surrogate mother over the course of the nine month
New means of reproducing children have the tendency to attract strong opposition, and this certainly true of surrogate mothering. A surrogate mother is woman who takes on the responsibility of pregnancy for another woman. The surrogate mother is, then, inseminated using a man’s sperm. At the end of the pregnancy, the surrogate mother gives the infant to the woman who requested her services. Some claim this practice is immoral.
The woman who conceives, carries and gives birth to the child is called the surrogate mother. There are two types of surrogacy: traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. Traditional surrogacy involves the sperm from the intended father (also known as the sperm donor) and the egg of the surrogate mother. Therefore, in this case, the surrogate mother is the genetic mother of the child. The second type is gestational surrogacy. Gestational surrogacy involves the extraction of the egg from the intended mother, and the transfer of the embryo into the surrogate’s uterus. This means that the surrogate mother is not genetically related to the child. Within the two types of surrogacy, there are two types of surrogacy arrangements: altruistic (non-commercial) and commercial. Under the Surrogacy Act 2010 (Qld), a commercial surrogacy arrangement is when a person receives payment, reward, or other material benefit or advantage for entering into the surrogacy arrange...
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.
“Time to Ban Surrogate Motherhood,” written by Lynda Hurst and “Surrogate Motherhood: Why it Should Be Permitted,” written by Allan C. Hutchinson, are persuasive texts where the authors’ attempts to influence the audience to agree with their side of the argument on surrogate motherhood. According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, surrogate motherhood is defined as, “a woman who bears a child for another person, often for pay, either through artificial insemination or by carrying until birth another woman's surgically implanted fertilized egg.” Since the persuasive works are published in different newspapers, one being The Toronto Star and the other being The Globe and Mail, the works are written for different target audiences. Comparing the articles of Lynda Hurst and Allan C. Hutchinson, numerous differences between the elements of tone and the types of structure define the target audience.
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
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 women who carry unexpected or unwanted children are left to decide between keeping the child, adoption, abortion and maybe foster care. Most of the time the decision is just between adoption and abortion. In that case, the mother is losing the child either way. Most of the time choosing adoption or foster care would be a better choice than abortion because the pregnancy would end by giving life instead of death. Adoption and foster care are an opportunity for people who wish to be parents, but are not able to have a child of their own to finally become parents or people who have children of their own, but want to add-on to their family.
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
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 ...
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.
The debate about surrogacy revolves around the following issues: (a) whether it is in the interests of the child involved or in the interests of society; or (b) whether it is exploitative of the birth mother or in the interests of women, as a whole. In considering the issues under (a) it is often argued that children are at risk of harm from having socially constructed family relationships rather than natural ones. Many commentators have likened the experience of children and birth mothers in surrogacy arrangements to children and relinquishing mothers in adoption, and point to the potential psychological and social harm that may result. (1) One argument against surrogacy therefore revolves around the relationships which are involved. Although talk of interests seems to couch the debate in utilitarian terms (2) it is not the only way in which the arguments about surrogacy may be seen. Another way of seei...
A surrogacy is the carrying of a pregnancy for intended parents. There are two kinds of surrogacy: “Gestational”, in which the egg and sperm belong to the intended parents and is carried by the surrogate, and “traditional”, where the surrogate is inseminated with the intended father’s sperm. Regardless of the method, I believe that surrogacy cannot be morally justified. Surrogacy literally means “substitute”, or “replacement”. A surrogate is a replacement for a mother for that 9-month period of pregnancy, and therefore is reducing the role of the surrogate mother to an oversimplified and dehumanizing labor. The pregnancy process for the gestational mother can be very physically and mentally demanding, and is unique because after birthing the
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.
Detractor will state that surrogacy should be illegal because it is immoral, cost prohibitive for most, and even liken it to the sale of a child. Each of these objections to surrogacy are without merit once analyzed closely. There is nothing immoral about surrogacy. Surrogacy is even mentioned in the Bible. Abraham’s wife Sarah is infertile, and offers her slave to Abraham in order to give him a son. Moreover, morality should not be legislated. Bad things have happened throughout history when governments try to legislate morality. The Salem Witch Trials are a prime example of the travesties that can occur when one’s morals are pushed on another. The Crusades are another example of what happens when one’s beliefs are forced upon another. America is a great county that allows people to believe whatever they want to believe. If one does not believe in surrogacy, then he/she does not have to, but he/she should not prohibit other from the pursuit of happiness. Some detractors point out the fact that surrogacy is expensive and therefore should be illegal because it is not attainable for everyone. IVF costs about $12,000 per round in order to cover the medication, surgery, creating and transfer of the embryo, and the pregnancy test afterward(Kuczynski, 2008). This is extremely expensive for most families in America, but it is still a viable option for infertile couples. The entire argument that surrogacy should be illegal because it costs too much is like expecting Ferrari to close its doors because their cars are too expensive. Men and women are created equal, but not all men and women will live equal lives. There will always be the haves and the have nots. There is another group of people that like surrogacy to the sale of children. This argument does not hold water either. Surrogate mothers allow their bodies to be used to perform a function that is not available to an
In addition to the above, even if the woman in this case a teenager may not be financially stable to support the child, she has other safe options such as giving up the baby for adoption temporarily or permanently to anonymous parents as such these children would not be underprivileged and could potential misfits in the. After all, how would giving your child a chance at a life you may be unable to give them make you a bad person?