The Danger and Immorality of Surrogacy
Surrogacy appears, at first glance, to be a perfect solution. It even seems quite charitable, as surely many of the intentions are derived from that, to carry a baby for a couple struggling to conceive. But as in my previous articles about IVF and fetal research, the reality breaks this 'fairytale' like story. It is doing and bringing more harm than the opposite. Once again, even our good intentions cannot surpass the objective reality and morality. If we still continue to do it, then we must ask ourselves what are our true desires and intentions. Who are we prioritizing? Who are we hurting in the process?
To get straight to the point: Surrogacy is exploitative. Both altruistic (the surrogate does not receive monetary compensation) and commercial surrogacy. How? Why is banning surrogacy what our societies should strive for? Hopefully, this article will answer these questions.
I pray that this blesses you and maybe someone in your life in any way, or someone who might cross paths with you, to bring into light this injustice and embrace life in such a way without harming our neighbours.
The Process
Surrogacy has been practiced in ancient societies, such as allowing lawfully, a husband to
divorce his wife lawfully because of her infertility. (1) Surrogacy today is done not just by infertile couples, but by those who don’t want to
pass a genetic defect or health condition on to their child and by
homosexual couples and single men and women who desire children.
Surrogacy in the 1980s was primarily based on artificial insemination, but since the 2010s, IVF has been chosen. The surrogate’s baby undergoes prenatal genetic diagnosis (PGDs) early in the pregnancy. And if the baby is healthy, she carries it to term and delivers the baby. These seven stages usually occur throughout surrogacy:
- Selection of the Surrogate Mother: Identifying and choosing a surrogate, followed by the signing of a legal contract.
- Embryo production and preimplantation genetic diagnosis
- Embryo transfer:
- Pregnancy confirmation. Verifying that the surrogate is pregnant.
- Pregnancy monitoring. regular check-ups to ensure the pregnancy is progressing well, and keep the commissioning people informed.
- Delivery and handover: The surrogate gives birth, and the child is handed over to the commissioning people. We are seeing how the child is treated as a product being purchased like an object...
- Transfer of parentage. Parentage is officially transferred from the surrogate to the people who ''purchased'' the baby.
Image: Michigan Advance
The Exploitation/Horror of Surrogacy
Recently, a heartbreaking tragedy has unfolded in California, which, unfortunately, is not so rare. A gay couple, who had their surrogate, Brittney Pearson, due to a breast cancer diagnosis, let the baby boy die at 25 weeks, after she delivered early because of the diagnosis, to give the baby a chance to survive, while getting the chemo treatment. As Nash, a 21-week-old premature baby, was delivered, a world record as the youngest baby delivered successfully, we know, today, with the progress of technology, a 25-week-old premature baby can survive outside of the womb.
The couple did not want to pay the surrogate for a baby not born before 38 weeks, because of the health risks associated with a premature baby.
- Brittney did not want to kill the baby, so they threatened with legal action
- She offered the option of adoption, but they demanded a death certificate
- She has stated that as a surrogate, she feels used, as a ''rented out uterus.'' Surrogacy does exploit the reproductive.
Brittney Pearson said: ''I want to keep this baby safe and bring it earthside.'' But that was not guaranteed, because of the legal rights not given to the surrogate. This is one of the dangers, the most dangerous, of surrogacy. The gay couple had an 'ownership' right, which surpassed the human right of the baby and silenced Brittney. The very act of surrogacy from all parties played a role in this baby's tragedy. Children are not products. But that is what surrogacy does. It rips away the fundamental right and dignity of the baby and even of motherhood itself.
And recently, it was discovered that a baby was allowed to be adopted by a gay couple through surrogacy. This already strips away the motherly role necessary for the baby, and as research shows, a child needs a mother and a father. Children do best when raised by their biological, married mother and father. It is not just an opinion, but decades of social research. But coming back to the previous topic, one of the couple, Brandon Keith Riley Mitchell, was convicted in Pennsylvania for the sexual abuse of a minor and is publicly listed on the Megan’s Law registry as a Tier 1 child sex offender.
Surrogacy Takes Advantage of Vulnerability
During the war in Ukraine, many have stayed close and care for the babies born to surrogates, many abandoned without parents. The war has prevented parents from returning to Ukraine, leaving their children with an uncertain future. Ukraine has had a growing international trade in surrogacy. The New York Times reports, “The country’s favorable laws — biological parents are listed on the baby’s birth certificate — and affordable prices, generally around $40,000, have attracted many aspiring parents.” It is estimated to be one of the most popular destinations for surrogacy in the world, with more than a dozen agencies specializing in the regulated practice. One agency alone arranges around 1,000 surrogate births each year. In 2020, the pandemic lockdowns barring international travel left many parents unable to reach the babies they paid women to carry as well.
These precious babies do not only find themselves in an actual war zone, but another type of war zone, being stranded because of surrogacy and treated as property.
Brian Clowes, director of research and training for Human Life International, said when he traveled to Bengaluru, India, several years ago, the Parliament was considering banning surrogacy because groups of women were being abused as “baby farms” for rich women, both in India and the West. The nation eventually passed a law banning commercial surrogacy, but not “altruistic” surrogacy, in which the mother is only compensated for essential medical expenses and insurance.
India is a high-profile spot for surrogacy. Because of the immense exploitation of Indian women, especially the low-income women, India has banned surrogacy, but like some countries in Europe, kept altruistic surrogacy legal. Non-Indian couples cannot seek surrogacy in India. New Delhi’s Center for Social Research stated, “Surrogacy degrades a pregnancy to a service and a baby to a product. Thailand and Cambodia are among other countries that have taken action towards the exploitation of commercial/international surrogacy. Surrogates are also found to have increasing psychological and emotional distress post-surrogacy. The children have shown to be in the same line as the surrogates, as this study shows.
Julie Bindel, a writer, exposes the hypocrisy of our culture by saying:
''The accelerating boom in surrogacy for gay couples…represents a disturbing slide into the brutal exploitation of women who usually come from the developing world and are often bullied or pimped into selling their wombs to satisfy the selfish whims of wealthy gay or lesbian westerners…. This cruelty is accompanied by epic hypocrisy. People from Europe and the USA who would shudder at the idea of involvement in human or sex trafficking have ended up indulging in a grotesque form of “reproductive trafficking.”
Also, surrogates who are exploited sign contracts that they cannot read. They’re kept in dorms, isolated from family and friends. Forced to deliver by cesarean section. Some aren’t paid the full amount they’re promised. A few surrogates have died.
Toboni, in an interview with New York magazine, exposes what she has uncovered:
“There are cases where American couples feel a little strange about what is happening, and the ethics of it, but turn a blind eye because they don’t want to pay the higher rates in the States. Many couples don’t want to know what’s behind the scenes, they want their baby fast, and they want it done cheaply.”
And as the National Catholic Register exposes in this article:
''the Indian restaurant is crowded, and the ambient noise of fellow diners all around makes it hard to hear. But Gianna Toboni, an investigative reporter from HBO’s documentary show VICE, slowly begins to understand what is being offered to her by a woman sitting across the table.Toboni is in India to get a firsthand look at the country’s booming international surrogacy industry. She has heard rumors of “extra” Caucasian babies for sale, so she meets a surrogacy broker for dinner. On camera, the broker, holding a swaddled infant, tells Toboni she can take the baby home tonight — for a price.
The source of these “extra” babies is beyond horrifying. Western couples are taking advantage of the discounts international surrogacy offers. They get a baby gestated for them at a low price, and the women in third-world countries get more money than they could make in several years.
To make the process more efficient, doctors often transfer more than one embryo to a surrogate. If she gets pregnant with multiples, sometimes the commissioning couple is not told. Nine months later, they fly in and get the one baby they paid for. The “extras,” however, are peddled on the black market. While the couple thinks they’re getting a miracle at a bargain price, they are unaware that their “extra” children are being sold to whoever is willing to pay.''
But similar cases happen in the West, too, unfortunately. In that same article, you will find a few heartbreaking stories, which bring forth the realities of this horror occurring all around the world.Today. many women fight for the ''right'' to abortion (which ends the life of an innocent child) because of women's ''reproductive rights'', but are usually in favor of surrogacy. Interesting, isn't it? Modern feminism has not, in reality, protected girls (like the unborn baby girls in the womb), nor has it protected the dignity of actual reproductive rights (like the exploitation in surrogacy) of a woman (often poor), but has failed to live by what they preach.
End of my rant. Let's move on.
But if the surrogate has consented, what is the problem then?
Something done out of the consent of someone does not make it automatically a good moral decision, nor acceptable. If someone consents to be murdered, it does not take away the immorality of murder; hence, the restrictions and opposition towards murder still should apply, nevertheless. An article from Catholic Answers evaluates this matter well:
“Sometimes people consent to things that are bad for them. But in such
examples, consent is not what is driving the moral evaluation. What’s in
the driver seat is a more fundamental underlying moral theory that says
these actions are bad and thus need to be avoided. If there is a more
fundamental framework that does the evaluative work, then it follows
that consent by itself isn’t sufficient to justify some activity.”
We have to take the children's well-being as a priority as well. Studies have demonstrated the psychological effects on children. It is quite clear as day, that much harm comes from surrogacy. It is not a fairy tale-like magic that the world tries to sell you. Here are involved, not just the women, but also the children. Let's not forget that.
What Does The Catholic Church Say? What should be the Christian response?
The Catholic Church considers surrogacy to be immoral because, as the Catechism states, surrogacy dissociates husband and wife by the intrusion of a person other than the couple, infringing “a child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage.” Of course, the usage artifical insemination and IVF for surrogacy is, by the Church is also deemed as morally unacceptable.Donum Vitae states, “A true and proper right to a child would be contrary to the child’s dignity and nature. The child is not an object to which one has a right, nor can he be considered as an object of ownership: rather, a child is a gift, ‘the supreme gift’ and the most gratuitous gift of marriage.” God designed the family in a way that serves the best interests of the child, not the opposite.
And the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the
intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum,
surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral”(2376).
The Church's stance is often viewed as non-compassionate towards couples desiring children, a family. However, as said in the previous articles, the methods cannot be unethical, even if the intentions are good. And as Christians, we contradict our faith and the love that Christ has shown us, if we accept immoral methods, such as surrogacy, IVF, fetal research, etc. Also, the Church does sympathize with the pain of infertility, stating: “Couples
who discover that they are sterile suffer greatly,” and “Research aimed at reducing sterility is to be encouraged.”
The Church offers hope.
But often, women and couples desiring a child are unaware of the ethical option available, like NaPro (Natural Procreative) Technology, which is approved by the Catholic Church. Madeleine Kearns expresses this in this article, that many women, not knowing the root cause of their infertility, believe that IVF is the only option. Several fertility clinics tell women that IVF is the only option, not recommending NaPro at all.
Surrogacy rips away the rights of children, who are treated as objects of commercial contracts. As Joseph Meaney, past president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, said:
“What surrogacy also does is it commercializes women’s reproductive capabilities. In a sense, their bodies are being rented out to be used by others to carry children. In some cases, the surrogate mother is the biological mother. In other cases, she will have an embryo transferred into her womb not related to her biologically. In both circumstances, it is extremely unnatural for her to be used in such a way, even with her consent. It goes against the dignity of a human being.”
Meaney also adds that there is a social-justice aspect to be said about surrogacy, because surrogate mothers tend to be from lower economic backgrounds, and those ordering are on the elite scale. “So it’s the rich exploiting the poor, which from a Catholic perspective is blamable.” Meaney says.
A 2015 poll indicated that 71% of Americans approve of surrogacy, with 57% approving of commercial surrogacy, and even those who consider religion "very important" showed a 48% approval rate for commercial surrogacy. Different Christian denominations vary in their moral view towards surrogacy. This is concerning, like with the seeming approval, even from the religious, towards IVF.
It is obvious that, especially as Christians, if we are faithful to the faith, we cannot deem surrogacy as a moral way or as a solution for families in difficulty with having a child, or simply to fulfill the desire to have a child. The dignity of every individual should never be compromised. I understand that superficially, it seems a kind act, but we must be careful, because we know that the enemy is great at deceiving.
As Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of The Ruth Institute, states:
“[Surrogacy] is a practice that turns the person from a person created in the image and likeness of God into a commodity,” says Dr. Morse. “Something that can be bought and sold and is property.
“It’s very important for Christians to look beyond those [fancy] headlines and look beyond the advertising copy to realize that this is a business,” she continues, “and it’s being run like a business. Exploitation of women and the buying and selling of children is part of what this business is doing.” A child of any kind of third-party reproduction […] is a child of God and loved; you must never regret the child. […] But that child may end up having different kinds of issues that will be very difficult to discuss inside the family.”
Conclusion
I truly hope this article has blessed you, and it will bring forth light into the darkness of this fallen world. I pray that each one of us will defend all lives and dignity, no matter what our surroundings say. I believe that we, even we Christians, must speak out more intensely, even in Churches, about the many ways the violation of God's gift, life, is abused. To educate our young and work towards it becoming the standard approach for a society when confronting these matters.
Being truly pro-life is not just about bringing life into the world, but also protecting the sanctity, the right, and value of life itself. Pro-life's mission does not end with the evil of abortion, or when a baby is delivered, but also after. In supporting struggling families, single-parents, and children at risk, among all the other scenarios, our stance is to uphold the dignity of that person until their natural death. But even after that, for example, a dignified burial and respect to the deceased must be upheld as very valuable, and if violated, fight back because that's how valuable their existence is.
https://unlawjournal.blogspot.com/2025/03/wombs-for-rent-dark-side-of-surrogacy.html
https://www.hli.org/resources/surrogacy-ethical-issues/
(1) Nicholas Postgate. Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History [Routledge, 1992], page 105.
Author: Aamu Maria C.