Pros and Cons - Debbie Newman, Ben Woolgar 2014

Surrogate mothers, payment of
Section H. Health, science and technology

A surrogate mother is a woman who carries and gives birth to a baby for another couple who are unable to have children in the normal way. A couple in which the woman is infertile might use the man’s sperm and the surrogate mother’s egg to produce the foetus — the surrogate would not need to have sex with the man, but could be inseminated in another way. Alternatively, if the woman and man are both fertile but the woman cannot, for some other reason, conceive and bear a child, one of the woman’s eggs, fertilised by the man, can be implanted into the womb of the surrogate. When he or she is born, the child is handed over by the surrogate to be adopted by the couple. In some US states, and in India and Russia among others, it is legal to pay surrogate mothers for their services; whereas in other countries such as the UK, Australia and France, only altruistic surrogacy is allowed, which merely permits the payment of reasonable costs. Some countries such as Italy have outlawed all forms of surrogacy, paid or not.

Pros

[1] Surrogate motherhood is to be encouraged as it is a way for people who could not otherwise do so to start their own family. For some infertile couples, surrogacy is the only chance to have their own baby as procedures such as IVF require the woman to be able to implant an embryo and then carry the baby to term and many women cannot do this. It is also a way for gay men to father children with a donated egg. Surrogacy allows people to fulfil their deep desire to be biological parents.

[2] Commercial surrogacy makes the procedure accessible to all. Countries such as India have set up clinics to facilitate matches. This is better than a couple relying on finding a relative, friend or kindly stranger to help. It prevents pressure being felt to comply and a sense of debt afterwards.

[3] When formal and commercial, the process can be carried out within strict medical and legal guidelines. This offers more protection both to the surrogate and those who have hired her. In countries that allow altruistic surrogacy, the law is often murky, with an adoption needed after birth.

[4] A surrogate mother should be paid for her services. She is meeting a demand, at some inconvenience, discomfort and risk to herself. It is only right to recognise this through a fee.

[5] In principle, there should be no objection to financial gain through surrogacy. A surrogate mother can weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of hiring out her womb and should be free to do so if the arrangement is between consenting adults and nobody is harmed. The surrogate mother may feel fulfilled knowing that her work is helping people who are infertile. Both parties benefit from the transaction and the only role of the state should be to make sure that contracts are enforced. Many other jobs are far riskier.

Cons

[1] Being a parent is not a right that everybody is born with. If a couple are unable to have children themselves, then they should adopt or foster a child rather than bringing yet another child into the world, particularly through surrogacy, which is a method beset by emotional, legal and financial wrangling.

[2] It is wrong to make a trade in human lives. The result of commercial surrogacy will be that only the rich can afford to buy babies in this way. That is not the way that parenthood should be decided.

[3] It is naive to believe that there will not be disputes in these instances of surrogacy. Surrogate mothers have been known to change their minds and keep the child due to the strong biological and emotional links made between mother and baby during pregnancy. There have also been disputes where the parents have sued the surrogate for her behaviour during pregnancy and refused to take the child.

[4] Surrogacy, if it is practised at all, should be an altruistic gift. Carrying a baby is not a ’job’ any more than any other bodily function. Paying for surrogacy is equivalent to paying for an organ rather than relying on donations.

[5] There are physical risks to pregnancy and childbirth and psychological harms in surrogacy, and women should not be financially incentivised to go through this. It may seem like an easy choice of a career — money for nothing — but when complications arise, it can be devastating. In principle, we should not treat the body as a commodity that can be bought and sold.

Possible motions

This House would allow paid surrogate motherhood.

This House would let a woman rent out her womb.

Related topics

Abortion on demand

Eugenics: IVF and genetic screening

Genetic engineering

Organs, legal sale of