Surrogacy

Surrogacy is a fertility technique where a woman or a person with uterus carries the child of another person or couple. This person is called the surrogate or gestational carrier and the ones who hold parental responsibility are calledintended parents. The technique consists of creating one or more embryos through in vitro fertilization and implanting them into the surrogate’s uterus.

Although this is no longer as common, in the past the surrogate could also provide the egg for the in vitro fertilization. After the pregnancy and the birth, the intended parents assume the parental rights of the baby. The rights that a surrogate might have over the baby resulting from the surrogacy depend on the national legislation. In some countries, they wave those rights before the birth and cannot undo their decision. In others, they have the possibility to do so and do not waive their rights until after the birth. 

Surrogacy can take place in an altruistic scenario where the surrogate does not receive any type of payment beyond reimbursement for the expenses incurred during the pregnancy. There is also commercial surrogacy, where the intended parents not only cover the pregnancy-related costs but also provide the surrogate with a payment. These models depend on the national legislation.

This practice is also referred to as surrogate motherhood . The concept of surrogate motherhood, along with prostitution and the idea of feminist pornography, represent the main conflicts within the international feminist movement. It is also one of the main sources of tension between this movement and the sexual and gender diversity movement.

The argument is that, initially, the surrogacy model provided a solution for the reproductive problems that couples belonging to the LGBTIQ+ collective faced, by allowing these couples to have their own children through the financial transaction with a woman who agreed to carry a pregnancy to term and waive the maternal rights of the child resulting from this process. However, it has become more common among heterosexual couples or people who have the financial resources to undergo this process. 

Some factions of the feminist movement argue that surrogacy sees women as little more than a storage room and represents the ultimate objectification of their bodies. Their opposition to the regulation or legalization of this practice is based on the recognition that, although it seems to be an agreement between two parties, in reality, it is based on an unequal relationship between the ‘buyer’ and the ‘seller’. Arguing that women who become surrogates for money do so in a world that is just and without inequalities, and freely and selflessly is a fallacy. As a result, strong waves within the feminist movement advocate for the prohibition of this practice in all cases. 

Some countries, including the United Kingdom, have opted for an approach between legalization and prohibition. This leads to a regulatory model that allows altruistic surrogacy as long as there is no financial exchange. Opponents of this practice highlight that in contexts such as this one, where the financial aspect does not exist, surrogacy rarely occurs, which shows that its value resides in the financial contribution. Other countries, including India, have completely legalized the practice and they have become the epicentre of the surrogacy industry. Couples and individuals from around the world turn to this industry looking for women—the majority of whom are poor—who are willing, or forced due to their situation, to rent their wombs.