Surrogacy raises several practical, legal and ethical questions. The life-changing process has varying laws and regulations around it based on state legislature. To fully evaluate the ethics of surrogacy, we must first define it.
Surrogacy Defined
Surrogate motherhood involves having another woman carry a baby for you. It is a form of assisted reproduction, much like in vitro or intrauterine insemination.
The gestational carrier is the woman who carries the baby on behalf of the intended parents. Gestational carriers get pregnant via in vitro fertilization with a fertilized embryo, often from the eggs and semen of the intended parents or donors.
Gestational carriers go through a normal pregnancy. Once they deliver the baby, the intended parents immediately get to take over caring for and being the legal guardians of the baby.
Is Surrogacy Ethical?
Now to the question at hand: Is surrogacy ethical?
Many couples long to be parents but struggle to get pregnant or carry a baby to term. Once they have exhausted other means, these couples generally turn to surrogacy. Understanding the ethics of the process can help guide intended parents in drafting contracts and agreements that respect and care for all parties involved.
1. Ethical Interests of the Child
The largest ethical concerns for surrogacy generally come from the rights of the child. Some argue that surrogacy treats children as commodities that can be bought and sold, violating human dignity.
Clear surrogacy contracts that outline various scenarios of what happens to the child should the unexpected happen can protect the child’s rights even before they are born.
2. Protecting the Rights of the Gestational Carrier
Gestational carriers also have rights, and knowing what those rights are can ensure that carriers enter into contracts that involve fair compensation, consent, and protections for their health and wellbeing.
Working with a reputable surrogacy agency can ensure that gestational carriers receive the protections they deserve.
That’s because they undergo a clear contract process that involves layers of consent, details their rights to health care throughout the process, ensures fair compensation without exploiting the carrier and ensures that the carrier is entering the agreement while of sound mind. The psychological evaluation is a valuable step in the gestational carrier process in protecting the woman who carriers the baby.
3. Intended Parents
Headlines have told the story of intended parents in surrogacy contracts who have lost their parental rights because the gestational carrier changed their mind and wants to keep the baby.
However, by entering into a contract in a state with friendly laws toward surrogacy that allow for clear contract terms and agreements that detail parental rights can ensure that the ethical rights of the intended parents are protected.
Top Ethical Concerns for Surrogacy
While each party involved in the surrogacy process has a set of ethical concerns to protect their rights, a well-constructed contract can protect those rights and keep gestational surrogacy ethical for everyone involved.
To ensure your surrogacy contracts are ethical, look in\ your agreements for these components.
- Informed consent: All parties involved must enter the surrogacy agreement with a clear understanding of what they are committing to, the risks of the process and what their rights are throughout the process.
- No coercion: No party entering into a surrogacy contract should be coerced to do so in any way. The gestational carrier must enter into the agreement of her own free will and the intended parents must both be aware of what they are agreeing to without any pressure.
- Psychological screening: To ensure that everyone is entering into the contract freely, surrogates should go through a thorough psychological evaluation. This ensures they are emotionally ready for the process and resilient to rise to the challenges that it might present.
- Transparent agreements: The full details of the surrogacy process should be clear and transparent to all parties involved. That means giving both parties time to review the full contract before signing. It should also involve time for asking questions and changing the agreement to ensure that their rights and preferences are respected.
- Fair compensation: Gestational carriers should have a clear understanding of their compensation, which should match the risks and physical requirements surrogacy entails.
- Physical autonomy for the carrier: The gestational carrier should still be permitted to make decisions about their body within reason.
- Ensuring support for the surrogate: Access to medical care and a legal team who can explain anything to the surrogate throughout the process is important. This respects them as a person instead of simply viewing them as a means to end.
Work with the Experts Ensuring Ethical Surrogacy
Screening surrogates and pairing them with intended parents is a crucial role that quality surrogacy agencies provide. Accel Conceptions has more than two decades of experience protecting the rights of all parties involved in surrogacy while ensuring an ethical, clear surrogacy journey. Book a consultation now to start your surrogacy journey.