Pros and Cons of Surrogacy

This paper will discuss the pros and cons of surrogacy. Surrogate motherhood occurs when a woman agrees to bear a child for another woman. Surrogacy became a controversial issue in 1986 with the "Baby M" case, in which Mary Beth Whitehead agreed to bear a child for Bill and Betsy Stern, an infertile couple. Ms. Whitehead later changed her mind about giving up the infant. A great number of philosophical questions were raised by this incident as Mr. Stern, the biological father, and Ms. Whitehead battled over custody rights in court.

The case raised questions regarding the rights of a natural mother versus those of the natural father's wife; the extent of a father's rights in his role as financial provider; the importance of the mother-infant bond; the extent to which a surrogate mother has a right to her own body; the extent to which a surrogate mother has a right to change her mind; the reasons why couples tend to place such great importance on the need for having children; what the best interests of the child are; and the extent to which the government should intervene or legislate in such cases (Chesler 8-11).

Although many arguments have been presented in opposition to surrogacy, this paper will take the position that a woman has the right to make decisions regarding her own body and that the practice of surrogate motherhood should be both legal and regulated. At the same time, this paper will argue that a surrogate mother should be treated fairly and accorded c

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indicated that the practice is uniquely unfair to the child who must someday face the realization that his or her natural mother was nothing more than "a woman who rented her uterus" (Messing 2). Such a realization could easily cause deep feelings of rejection which may lead to serious emotional problems in the later life of the child. A number of official statements have been issued in recent years which denounce the practice of surrogacy. For example, the Vatican has clearly opposed the practice among the members of the Catholic Church (Gordon 28). A landmark report issued by the Warnock Committee in Great Britain also established a number of arguments against surrogate motherhood. The report held that surrogacy is similar to prostitution, and as such it borders on being an illegal act. The Warnock Report argued that surrogacy interferes with the sacred bond of marriage; that it is morally wrong to ask a woman to risk pregnancy for money; that it is wrong to expect a woman to give up her own baby; and that the entire practice in and of itself is "inconsistent with human dignity" (Spallone 546-547). The unfortunate aspect of the Warnock Report and many of the other arguments against surrogacy is that they tend to disre

Category: Psychology - P