Essay On Surrogate Motherhood

Becoming a parent is a life changing decision and for some, it can be very difficult to have a child of their own. There are many different options, from adoption to in-vitro fertilization. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 6.7 million women between the ages of 15-44 are infertile in the United States. The joy of becoming a mother is a blessing and many of these women end up searching for other alternatives. There has been much debate on the concept of surrogate motherhood. Surrogacy gives the opportunity for infertile women and gay couples to become parents and raise children of their own, but is this the best option?

Surrogacy is not a new concept, but rather it is believed to be the oldest alternative to a male and female partner conceiving a child by sexual intercourse (Fisher, 2013). There are two types of surrogacy which are traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. A traditional surrogate is inseminated with the sperm of the intended father or with donor sperm through in vitro fertilization or IVF, and the surrogate uses her own egg and the surrogate is genetically related to the child. A gestational surrogate has an embryo placed into her uterus, also through IVF, but the surrogate’s egg is not
There are so many children that are in need of a family to raise them and care for them. There is no national policy on surrogacy. Laws for surrogacy arrangements vary from state to state. The U.S. does not regulate surrogacy, but a few individual states have their own laws. For example, in Florida, surrogacy is only allowed if the commissioning mother cannot physically carry a pregnancy to term (Planning Parenthood, 2009). People who are looking to adopt must meet certain criteria to make sure that the child is placed in a good home, which is best for any child and their