Issues Surrounding Surrogacy Report
Surrogacy involves renting a healthy woman’s womb to fertile another couples’ child; it is a great aid to reproduction but has also invited a lot of issues with regards to the process of the medical practice In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course English 27 – EB1
Submitted by:
Queenie Rhapsody C. Ecuasion
Submitted to:
Ms. Christine Faith Gumalal
October 2013
Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………….………………………………………………………...Page 1
Issues Surrounding Surrogacy ……………………………………………………………………….Page 2
Psychological Concerns………………………………………………………………………………….Page 7
Failure and Successful Story…………………………………………………………………………..Page 9
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………….........Page 11
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………….Page 12
INTRODUCTION
Reproduction is a right given to human kind. Unfortunately, there are some women or …show more content…
men that have little or no reproductive capabilities and also to gays and lesbians who don’t have the opportunity to produce on their own. For this reasons, advances in reproductive techniques such as surrogacy gives new hope to couples and to the LGBT society who wants to have their own children.
Surrogacy is a practice by which a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby in order to give it to someone who cannot have children (Merriam-Webster). The surrogate mother can be the child 's genetic mother called traditional surrogacy, or she can be genetically unrelated to the child called gestational surrogacy. There are two types of surrogacy arrangements, the commercial surrogacy in which the surrogate mother is being paid, while the altruistic surrogacy is the opposite. This medical practice may sound new to some people but actually it has been around a long time ago and dates back to biblical times. The story of surrogacy was recorded in the book of genesis. Sarah had her servant Hagar as a surrogate mother to bear a child for her and Abraham to raise (Houdmann 2008).
The purpose of this paper is to inform everyone the issues involving surrogacy. This research will state inspiring and failure story. The couple should consider these following questions before deciding to use surrogate as an option to build a family: Are you ready to experience the current infertility treatments? How do you feel about using someone to carry your own child? How will you tell other people about the pregnancy and birth you experience and eventually to your own child?
ISSUES SURROUNDING SURROGACY
Ethical Issues
Surrogacy faces morality issues because of some situation that will occur during the procedure. These issues are about the welfare of the surrogate mothers, intended parents and the child. Can they really predict the emotions of the surrogate mother when they released their child? Will the surrogate mother have benefits in the contract like the intended parents (Meinke 1984)? What will happen if the couples change their mind and don’t want the child to be born? What will happen when the intended parents will not accept the not-so-perfect child (Summer 1998)? What will happen to the abandon child?
The practice of surrogacy is not successful all the time there will always be a medical failure. Surrogacy involves medical procedure like In vitro fertilization, where an embryo or embryos created from the eggs and sperm of the intended parents (or donor egg and donor sperm selected by the intended parents) are implanted in the uterus for the gestational period of 40 weeks (Trimarchi 2013). What if the egg cell and sperm cell failed to fertilize because the medical process fail? Each and every one of us comes from the egg cell and sperm cell of our parents. If the fertilization fails a child that should have been brought out in this world will die, right? This would mean that we are sacrificing a life by using this process.
When it comes to the issue of the surrogate mother, what if she decides to keep the baby? Or she wanted to see the baby even if it was against the agreement? Since the surrogate mother carries the child for nine months in her womb, it is possible that she will be attached to the child and treat the child as her own. The surrogate mother can’t keep the baby because she already had a legal agreement with the intended parents and also it is not part of the agreement to see the baby because the baby might grow affection towards her. There is nothing she can do right? She will only feel regret and realize that she is selling her dignity and her child.
Also when it comes to the child what if he/she wants to meet the surrogate mother and the biological mother? If part of the agreement of his real parents and the surrogate mother is to keep the identity of each other, how will he know? The child will only feel that he/she don’t have identity.
And to the intended parents, to what extent is it to pay a surrogate mother to bear their child? Is it until they are satisfied? Well, they can’t be blamed. They have fortunes and they will make use of it for them to be happy. The surrogate mother is like selling his blood and flesh to carry a child for the couple. Even if she already signed a contract and agreed in the matters with regards to the process, the fact that she let other people uses her body is like letting go her dignity as a women.
Legal Issues
Where will the baby go after he was born? Are the contracts in surrogacy doable? Are they really legal? What will happen if one of the parties won’t follow the contract? Are they going to put act or let it go (Meinke 1984)? Will the restriction in the practice of surrogacy violates the rights to generate? Why is it that so many people are more concerned about the legal contract than the importance of the bonds and life of human? Can we really accept the terms of surrogate-parenting arrangements? These are some questions asked by everyone regarding the legal issues in surrogacy. In the eyes of the many, the one who gave birth to the child is the one who deserves to become the mother. Even if both parties have legal contract, the baby is still in the care of the surrogate mother until parental rights is transferred to the intended parents through parental order. This is because the law treated the woman who gives birth to the child as the mother (Chesler 1989). Laws on surrogacy will vary to what country it is implemented (Parker 2013). Surrogacy is illegal to some countries and contracts are not valid and accepted (Gurevich 2011). In my country (Philippines), legal status of surrogacy has not yet been settled. Some other places like America and Europe this medical practice is widely accepted but with laws implemented into it. There are two legal aspects to gestational surrogacy agreements: the contract and finalization of parental rights. The surrogacy contract should be drafted, reviewed and signed at the beginning of the relationship between the intended parents and the surrogate. A solid contract will outline the rights and responsibilities of the intended and the surrogate as well as compensation, medical and psychological screening, selective reduction policy, medical insurance and parental rights (Trimarchi 2013).
Religious Issues
Religious issues are involved because not all religion agreed to this practice. Some religions think that the people who are not given the opportunity to fertile change the order of life since they are not destined to have one. Many Christians believe that it is God’s choice to have people children or not; if a couple doesn’t have the ability to give birth, it may be God’s will. It is violating the ‘natural law’ having a child other than sex.
Religions point view about infertility treatment:
The Jewish Beliefs
In Jewish law, a couple without child falls within the category of individual suffering and it is acceptable to assist them as long as no one is harmed in the method (Schneker 2003).
Hindus perspective
Hindus never take seriously the debate involving reproduction because of their belief in karma, which is a term used about the cycle of causes and effects in life. There is no issue between Hinduism and the reproductive advances because they accepted it as a treatment to those who are in need and not as a violation on their religious belief. (Kumar 2007)
Methodist Church and Church of England
They believe that the medical experts have a right to learn more about the causes of infertility and to give aid of these problems. They accepted In Vitro Fertilization in all its forms, including the contribution of the eggs and sperms by third parties. They accept spare embryos until 14 days because a fetus can split and form twins starting that day. Therefore, the embryo is not yet a human life until 14
days.
In an address to Catholic doctors, Pope Pius XII condemned AID because a third person becoming involved in a marriage is like "mechanical adultery": the donor fathers a child (with his sperm) yet he has no responsibility to the child; and a process that isolates the sacred act of creating life from the marriage union is a violation of the marriage union (which alone is the way to create life). However, if the marriage act is preserved, then various clinical techniques designed to help create new life are not to be condemned." (Adapted from Modern Catholic Dictionary)
Roman Catholic 1987 Report: “Respect for Human Life and the Dignity of Procreation”
The main points in this report are:
1. The proper place for conceiving children is through sexual relationships between husband and wife.
2. Couples greatest gifts and blessings from God are their children. Science is a great help for it make things possible but it doesn’t make things right. Despite the benefits of this medical practice, we should still consider the morality behind this procedure.
3. Infertility treatments must respect that all humans have the right to life through conception.
"Any use whatsoever of any method that stops the natural power of sex to generate life is forbidden." (Pope Pius XI, 1930)
Medical and Legal Expenses
Surrogacy is not often the first choice on the journey to build a family because the medical process for this practice is very expensive. This is one of the reasons why issues have been raised in this medical practice because the costs are expensive while the assurance of this procedure is not certain. It is like taking risks. Though this practice is not certain, there are still couples who are willing to try and take risks because they wanted to have a child with their own flesh and blood.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCERNS
Surrogate Mother
Psychological aspects have been raised because in the process of giving birth the surrogate mother grows affection towards the baby even if both the sperm and the egg came from someone else. She is also suffering in carrying the child even if it is not her own and it is cruel to separate them. What is the psychological effect on the mother when she was going to release the baby that she’s been carrying for several months (Summer 1998)? You can’t remove the fact that the surrogate mother will always be connected to her surrogate child as long as they live (Chesler 1989). One of the reasons why some women become a surrogate mother is because of money. Most of them enjoyed the process and some felt the importance of their existence in the world because they help other people.
Some agency and law firms that I’ve searched in the internet cited that they will practice the surrogate mother in handling the baby over to the real parents. The agency will assist their recruit surrogate mother in controlling their feelings and motherly thoughts. The age of the surrogate mother and attitude towards giving birth are some of the reason why they are attached to the baby. Few of the surrogates are young and doesn’t understand yet the consequences and would feel regret in their decisions later on. Having the thought that everything is only an ‘agreement’ make it easier for them to release the baby. Releasing the baby will make some surrogate mother at ease and some felt mixed emotions.
Intended Parents
The intended parents will be having a hard time to tell their children about how they are being brought out in this world. The reason why intended parents try this practice is because it is the only way for them to have a genetically related child. The intended parents receive plenty of benefits in this medical practice. The only concerns in their part is when the agency or law firm they trust is over pricing them, and they are not yet prepared to enter the medical procedure. They also fear that maybe the surrogate mother won’t hand over the baby.
Child
What are the possible psychological effects on the child in this process (Meinke 1984)? What if the child has identity crises and will have the desire to know his surrogate mother? The attachment that has been forgotten between the involved parties will bring back and also the affection of the surrogate mother which may cause problems later on. The reason of child’s psychological problem is when the parents would not tell the child the truth behind his birth. The parents are afraid because the child might feel less affection towards them if they will know the truth and will try to look out for the surrogate mother. There is a possibility that a child will grow up having the feeling that he is being experimented. He will also feel that he is being neglected by his parents. Well, not all cases are negative because some children who were born in this procedure lived a normal life just like the other children. The parties involved are satisfied with the behavior, understanding and reactions of the child. None of them have regrets in entering this medical procedure because of the positive outcome of the child.
FAILURE AND SUCCESSFUL STORIES
Reproductive Possibilities, LLC is an agency owned by Melissa Brisman. This agency shared Melissa’s story.
Successful story of Melissa
Melissa is an example of a woman who can’t bear a child on her own. Melissa and her husband decided to try the practice of surrogacy. She can’t carry a child but her eggs and his husband’s sperms are both healthy and this was used to fertile their baby. They began visiting doctors for the medical procedure and told that they have over 50% of success rate. Though they had a hard time looking for a carrier, they still resolved this. When all the paperwork was done, they already started the procedure. She was able to produce nine healthy embryos. The surrogate mother got pregnant. In the twentieth week, two healthy boys were seen in the ultrasound. They experience difficulties along the way. When they were told by the doctor that the baby was due, they hurried in the hospital. The birth came before they knew it and the two baby boy was born named Andrew and Benjamin.
Successful Story of Joel Cruz
Joel Cruz is a gay and doesn’t have a partner. Joel wanted to have a child that he can call his own. He was asked why chose surrogacy instead of adoption? He said that, he have so many nieces and nephews that he treated as his own, so why adopt? He actually tried this procedure 10 years ago in the Philippines but all failed. As he was about to lose hope, he found what he has been looking for in the internet. He chose Ukrainian as the surrogate mother but he was not accepted because he doesn’t have a partner. He then tried in Russia because someone told him that a single father is accepted in that country. He went into a law firm that arranges everything for him which includes in contacting the doctor and looking for the surrogate mother. In August 2011, he submitted his sperm and after five months the procedure was a success because the surrogate mother was already conceiving. He got excited when he knew that he have twins. His baby was born on September 4, 2012. He named it Prince Sean and Princess Synne, and treated them like royalty (Lo 2013).
A Failure Story
One of the most controversial issues about surrogacy is the Baby M case. This case raises the entire negative outcome when using surrogacy in building family. This happens when Billy Stern and Elizabeth Stern decided to enter “Surrogacy Arrangement” because Elizabeth is not physically fit to give birth. They choose Mary Beth Whitehead as the surrogate mother by looking at the photographs. The medical experts used Mary Beth’s egg to fertile with Bill’s sperm. The medical process is a success. However, problems take place when Mary Beth was attached to the baby and decided to break her contract with the Stern. She refused to give the baby because she felt like giving her own flesh and blood. The couple was against her decision to own the baby. Mary fought her right as a mother but he failed because her family is not financially stable. The Stern won the case and gets the custody of Baby M (Chesler 1989).
CONCLUSION
Surrogacy has been a hot topic for debates from the past years until now. Though surrogacy is a great aid to reproduction, this also raises questions regarding legal, ethical, religious and psychological concerns. Try to imagine living a life without a child. Through the years, some couples experience dozens of negative pregnancy tests, thousands of dollars spend and infinite heartaches.
This paper aims the attention of the intended parents and the surrogate mother. To the intended parents, you should know what the effects of using surrogacy as a solution to have a child. Intended parents should be considerate in this situation and should have legal arrangement with the surrogate mother before doing the procedure. Intended parents out there should also think first the consequences before doing this risky procedure and think thoroughly so that there will be no regrets in the end. To the surrogate mother, they should know very well that they are the underdog in this kind of situation. They should be physically and mentally prepared to do this medical practice. Surrogate mother should know very well the purpose of doing this because they are gambling their dignity by doing it.
Surrogacy is not always on the negative side. Many couple or individual is happy having surrogacy as a key to complete their family. Also, not all surrogate mothers are forced to do this practice because of financial reasons, as some of them also have good intention such as helping infertile couples to have baby. Therefore, before making any judgments on the issue, we should consider first the positive and negative side of surrogacy. In the end it is the choice we made, and it doesn 't matter how hard we try to make it. It matters that we did.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"2013 Surrogate Mother Success Stories." Building Families Inc. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"A Belly for Their Baby: Religion vs. Surrogacy." A Belly for Their Baby: Religion vs Surrogacy. 12 Sept. 2013 .
Danielle. "Academic Source: Surrogacy: The Psychological Issues." Feminist debates: Gwss 3004. 26 Feb. 2010. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Discovery Health." Discovery Fit and Health. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Fertility Treatment." Religion and Medical Ethics. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Full Service, Worldwide Surrogate-Parenting Agency | Circle Surrogacy." Full Service, Worldwide Surrogate-Parenting Agency | Circle Surrogacy. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"History of Surrogacy." Information on Surrogacy. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Human Reproduction Update." Psychosocial aspects of surrogate motherhood. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Melissa 's Story: A Gestational Surrogacy Journey." The story of an intended parent using a surrogate mother. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Motherhood - Nine Months vs. A Lifetime." Customessaymeister.com. Anonymous. .
"Purpose of surrogacy." HealthTap. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy - Legal issues around surrogacy." Surrogacy - Legal issues around surrogacy. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy Ethical Issues | Modern Family Surrogacy." Surrogacy Ethical Issues | Modern Family Surrogacy. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy exposed." Washington Post. 24 May 2013. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy." Fertility Associates -. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy Overview." Surrogacy Review: Legal Definitions & Fees. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy." RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy." Wikipedia. 09 Feb. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogate." About.com Fertility. 12 Sept. 2013 .
"Surrogacy." Merriam-Webster.. 12 Sept. 2013 .
Tyler. "Controversial Issue-Surrogacy." Introduction: Controversial Issue on Surrogacy. 23 July 2008. 12 Sept. 2013 .
Lo, Ricky. "How Joel Cruz got twin joys." Philstar.com. 15 Feb. 2013.
Mirkes, Sister Renee. "The Injustices of the Surrogacy Industry." The Catholic World Report
1 Aug. 2013.
Godinez, Bro . Gino. "SUMMARY OF DONUM VITAE Instruction on respect for human life in its origin and on the dignity of procreation; Replies to certain questions of the day."
Chesler, Phyllis. Sacred Bond: The Legacy of Baby M. New York: Vintage, 1989.
Ciccarelli, Janice C., and Linda J. Beckman. Navigating rough waters: An overview of psychological aspects of surrogacy. Plenum Corporation, 2005.
Paul, Jim. Surrogacy. Summer. CMF publication, 1998.
Submitted by:
Queenie Rhapsody C. Ecuasion
Submitted to:
Ms. Christine Faith Gumalal
October 2013
Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………….………………………………………………………...Page 1
Issues Surrounding Surrogacy ……………………………………………………………………….Page 2
Psychological Concerns………………………………………………………………………………….Page 7
Failure and Successful Story…………………………………………………………………………..Page 9
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………….........Page 11
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………….Page 12
INTRODUCTION
Reproduction is a right given to human kind. Unfortunately, there are some women or …show more content…
men that have little or no reproductive capabilities and also to gays and lesbians who don’t have the opportunity to produce on their own. For this reasons, advances in reproductive techniques such as surrogacy gives new hope to couples and to the LGBT society who wants to have their own children.
Surrogacy is a practice by which a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby in order to give it to someone who cannot have children (Merriam-Webster). The surrogate mother can be the child 's genetic mother called traditional surrogacy, or she can be genetically unrelated to the child called gestational surrogacy. There are two types of surrogacy arrangements, the commercial surrogacy in which the surrogate mother is being paid, while the altruistic surrogacy is the opposite. This medical practice may sound new to some people but actually it has been around a long time ago and dates back to biblical times. The story of surrogacy was recorded in the book of genesis. Sarah had her servant Hagar as a surrogate mother to bear a child for her and Abraham to raise (Houdmann 2008).
The purpose of this paper is to inform everyone the issues involving surrogacy. This research will state inspiring and failure story. The couple should consider these following questions before deciding to use surrogate as an option to build a family: Are you ready to experience the current infertility treatments? How do you feel about using someone to carry your own child? How will you tell other people about the pregnancy and birth you experience and eventually to your own child?
ISSUES SURROUNDING SURROGACY
Ethical Issues
Surrogacy faces morality issues because of some situation that will occur during the procedure. These issues are about the welfare of the surrogate mothers, intended parents and the child. Can they really predict the emotions of the surrogate mother when they released their child? Will the surrogate mother have benefits in the contract like the intended parents (Meinke 1984)? What will happen if the couples change their mind and don’t want the child to be born? What will happen when the intended parents will not accept the not-so-perfect child (Summer 1998)? What will happen to the abandon child?
The practice of surrogacy is not successful all the time there will always be a medical failure. Surrogacy involves medical procedure like In vitro fertilization, where an embryo or embryos created from the eggs and sperm of the intended parents (or donor egg and donor sperm selected by the intended parents) are implanted in the uterus for the gestational period of 40 weeks (Trimarchi 2013). What if the egg cell and sperm cell failed to fertilize because the medical process fail? Each and every one of us comes from the egg cell and sperm cell of our parents. If the fertilization fails a child that should have been brought out in this world will die, right? This would mean that we are sacrificing a life by using this process.
When it comes to the issue of the surrogate mother, what if she decides to keep the baby? Or she wanted to see the baby even if it was against the agreement? Since the surrogate mother carries the child for nine months in her womb, it is possible that she will be attached to the child and treat the child as her own. The surrogate mother can’t keep the baby because she already had a legal agreement with the intended parents and also it is not part of the agreement to see the baby because the baby might grow affection towards her. There is nothing she can do right? She will only feel regret and realize that she is selling her dignity and her child.
Also when it comes to the child what if he/she wants to meet the surrogate mother and the biological mother? If part of the agreement of his real parents and the surrogate mother is to keep the identity of each other, how will he know? The child will only feel that he/she don’t have identity.
And to the intended parents, to what extent is it to pay a surrogate mother to bear their child? Is it until they are satisfied? Well, they can’t be blamed. They have fortunes and they will make use of it for them to be happy. The surrogate mother is like selling his blood and flesh to carry a child for the couple. Even if she already signed a contract and agreed in the matters with regards to the process, the fact that she let other people uses her body is like letting go her dignity as a women.
Legal Issues
Where will the baby go after he was born? Are the contracts in surrogacy doable? Are they really legal? What will happen if one of the parties won’t follow the contract? Are they going to put act or let it go (Meinke 1984)? Will the restriction in the practice of surrogacy violates the rights to generate? Why is it that so many people are more concerned about the legal contract than the importance of the bonds and life of human? Can we really accept the terms of surrogate-parenting arrangements? These are some questions asked by everyone regarding the legal issues in surrogacy. In the eyes of the many, the one who gave birth to the child is the one who deserves to become the mother. Even if both parties have legal contract, the baby is still in the care of the surrogate mother until parental rights is transferred to the intended parents through parental order. This is because the law treated the woman who gives birth to the child as the mother (Chesler 1989). Laws on surrogacy will vary to what country it is implemented (Parker 2013). Surrogacy is illegal to some countries and contracts are not valid and accepted (Gurevich 2011). In my country (Philippines), legal status of surrogacy has not yet been settled. Some other places like America and Europe this medical practice is widely accepted but with laws implemented into it. There are two legal aspects to gestational surrogacy agreements: the contract and finalization of parental rights. The surrogacy contract should be drafted, reviewed and signed at the beginning of the relationship between the intended parents and the surrogate. A solid contract will outline the rights and responsibilities of the intended and the surrogate as well as compensation, medical and psychological screening, selective reduction policy, medical insurance and parental rights (Trimarchi 2013).
Religious Issues
Religious issues are involved because not all religion agreed to this practice. Some religions think that the people who are not given the opportunity to fertile change the order of life since they are not destined to have one. Many Christians believe that it is God’s choice to have people children or not; if a couple doesn’t have the ability to give birth, it may be God’s will. It is violating the ‘natural law’ having a child other than sex.
Religions point view about infertility treatment:
The Jewish Beliefs
In Jewish law, a couple without child falls within the category of individual suffering and it is acceptable to assist them as long as no one is harmed in the method (Schneker 2003).
Hindus perspective
Hindus never take seriously the debate involving reproduction because of their belief in karma, which is a term used about the cycle of causes and effects in life. There is no issue between Hinduism and the reproductive advances because they accepted it as a treatment to those who are in need and not as a violation on their religious belief. (Kumar 2007)
Methodist Church and Church of England
They believe that the medical experts have a right to learn more about the causes of infertility and to give aid of these problems. They accepted In Vitro Fertilization in all its forms, including the contribution of the eggs and sperms by third parties. They accept spare embryos until 14 days because a fetus can split and form twins starting that day. Therefore, the embryo is not yet a human life until 14
days.
In an address to Catholic doctors, Pope Pius XII condemned AID because a third person becoming involved in a marriage is like "mechanical adultery": the donor fathers a child (with his sperm) yet he has no responsibility to the child; and a process that isolates the sacred act of creating life from the marriage union is a violation of the marriage union (which alone is the way to create life). However, if the marriage act is preserved, then various clinical techniques designed to help create new life are not to be condemned." (Adapted from Modern Catholic Dictionary)
Roman Catholic 1987 Report: “Respect for Human Life and the Dignity of Procreation”
The main points in this report are:
1. The proper place for conceiving children is through sexual relationships between husband and wife.
2. Couples greatest gifts and blessings from God are their children. Science is a great help for it make things possible but it doesn’t make things right. Despite the benefits of this medical practice, we should still consider the morality behind this procedure.
3. Infertility treatments must respect that all humans have the right to life through conception.
"Any use whatsoever of any method that stops the natural power of sex to generate life is forbidden." (Pope Pius XI, 1930)
Medical and Legal Expenses
Surrogacy is not often the first choice on the journey to build a family because the medical process for this practice is very expensive. This is one of the reasons why issues have been raised in this medical practice because the costs are expensive while the assurance of this procedure is not certain. It is like taking risks. Though this practice is not certain, there are still couples who are willing to try and take risks because they wanted to have a child with their own flesh and blood.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCERNS
Surrogate Mother
Psychological aspects have been raised because in the process of giving birth the surrogate mother grows affection towards the baby even if both the sperm and the egg came from someone else. She is also suffering in carrying the child even if it is not her own and it is cruel to separate them. What is the psychological effect on the mother when she was going to release the baby that she’s been carrying for several months (Summer 1998)? You can’t remove the fact that the surrogate mother will always be connected to her surrogate child as long as they live (Chesler 1989). One of the reasons why some women become a surrogate mother is because of money. Most of them enjoyed the process and some felt the importance of their existence in the world because they help other people.
Some agency and law firms that I’ve searched in the internet cited that they will practice the surrogate mother in handling the baby over to the real parents. The agency will assist their recruit surrogate mother in controlling their feelings and motherly thoughts. The age of the surrogate mother and attitude towards giving birth are some of the reason why they are attached to the baby. Few of the surrogates are young and doesn’t understand yet the consequences and would feel regret in their decisions later on. Having the thought that everything is only an ‘agreement’ make it easier for them to release the baby. Releasing the baby will make some surrogate mother at ease and some felt mixed emotions.
Intended Parents
The intended parents will be having a hard time to tell their children about how they are being brought out in this world. The reason why intended parents try this practice is because it is the only way for them to have a genetically related child. The intended parents receive plenty of benefits in this medical practice. The only concerns in their part is when the agency or law firm they trust is over pricing them, and they are not yet prepared to enter the medical procedure. They also fear that maybe the surrogate mother won’t hand over the baby.
Child
What are the possible psychological effects on the child in this process (Meinke 1984)? What if the child has identity crises and will have the desire to know his surrogate mother? The attachment that has been forgotten between the involved parties will bring back and also the affection of the surrogate mother which may cause problems later on. The reason of child’s psychological problem is when the parents would not tell the child the truth behind his birth. The parents are afraid because the child might feel less affection towards them if they will know the truth and will try to look out for the surrogate mother. There is a possibility that a child will grow up having the feeling that he is being experimented. He will also feel that he is being neglected by his parents. Well, not all cases are negative because some children who were born in this procedure lived a normal life just like the other children. The parties involved are satisfied with the behavior, understanding and reactions of the child. None of them have regrets in entering this medical procedure because of the positive outcome of the child.
FAILURE AND SUCCESSFUL STORIES
Reproductive Possibilities, LLC is an agency owned by Melissa Brisman. This agency shared Melissa’s story.
Successful story of Melissa
Melissa is an example of a woman who can’t bear a child on her own. Melissa and her husband decided to try the practice of surrogacy. She can’t carry a child but her eggs and his husband’s sperms are both healthy and this was used to fertile their baby. They began visiting doctors for the medical procedure and told that they have over 50% of success rate. Though they had a hard time looking for a carrier, they still resolved this. When all the paperwork was done, they already started the procedure. She was able to produce nine healthy embryos. The surrogate mother got pregnant. In the twentieth week, two healthy boys were seen in the ultrasound. They experience difficulties along the way. When they were told by the doctor that the baby was due, they hurried in the hospital. The birth came before they knew it and the two baby boy was born named Andrew and Benjamin.
Successful Story of Joel Cruz
Joel Cruz is a gay and doesn’t have a partner. Joel wanted to have a child that he can call his own. He was asked why chose surrogacy instead of adoption? He said that, he have so many nieces and nephews that he treated as his own, so why adopt? He actually tried this procedure 10 years ago in the Philippines but all failed. As he was about to lose hope, he found what he has been looking for in the internet. He chose Ukrainian as the surrogate mother but he was not accepted because he doesn’t have a partner. He then tried in Russia because someone told him that a single father is accepted in that country. He went into a law firm that arranges everything for him which includes in contacting the doctor and looking for the surrogate mother. In August 2011, he submitted his sperm and after five months the procedure was a success because the surrogate mother was already conceiving. He got excited when he knew that he have twins. His baby was born on September 4, 2012. He named it Prince Sean and Princess Synne, and treated them like royalty (Lo 2013).
A Failure Story
One of the most controversial issues about surrogacy is the Baby M case. This case raises the entire negative outcome when using surrogacy in building family. This happens when Billy Stern and Elizabeth Stern decided to enter “Surrogacy Arrangement” because Elizabeth is not physically fit to give birth. They choose Mary Beth Whitehead as the surrogate mother by looking at the photographs. The medical experts used Mary Beth’s egg to fertile with Bill’s sperm. The medical process is a success. However, problems take place when Mary Beth was attached to the baby and decided to break her contract with the Stern. She refused to give the baby because she felt like giving her own flesh and blood. The couple was against her decision to own the baby. Mary fought her right as a mother but he failed because her family is not financially stable. The Stern won the case and gets the custody of Baby M (Chesler 1989).
CONCLUSION
Surrogacy has been a hot topic for debates from the past years until now. Though surrogacy is a great aid to reproduction, this also raises questions regarding legal, ethical, religious and psychological concerns. Try to imagine living a life without a child. Through the years, some couples experience dozens of negative pregnancy tests, thousands of dollars spend and infinite heartaches.
This paper aims the attention of the intended parents and the surrogate mother. To the intended parents, you should know what the effects of using surrogacy as a solution to have a child. Intended parents should be considerate in this situation and should have legal arrangement with the surrogate mother before doing the procedure. Intended parents out there should also think first the consequences before doing this risky procedure and think thoroughly so that there will be no regrets in the end. To the surrogate mother, they should know very well that they are the underdog in this kind of situation. They should be physically and mentally prepared to do this medical practice. Surrogate mother should know very well the purpose of doing this because they are gambling their dignity by doing it.
Surrogacy is not always on the negative side. Many couple or individual is happy having surrogacy as a key to complete their family. Also, not all surrogate mothers are forced to do this practice because of financial reasons, as some of them also have good intention such as helping infertile couples to have baby. Therefore, before making any judgments on the issue, we should consider first the positive and negative side of surrogacy. In the end it is the choice we made, and it doesn 't matter how hard we try to make it. It matters that we did.
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