surrogate mothers

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...

... middle of paper ...

...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)