Surrogacy

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Surrogacy

• By Cherie Thompson and James Lloyd

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What is Surrogacy?

• Surrogacy is when another women becomes pregnant
  with your partners sperm and carries the baby
  until it is born. She may use her own eggs, or
  eggs donated by the other woman through the IVF
  process. At birth the baby should be handed over
  to the father and his partner. When the child is
  6 weeks old, the father and new mother apply to
  the court for a Parental Order. The Court
  appoints a guardian (court welfare officer) to
  interview the prospective parents and to
  recommend for or against the parental order being
  granted. If granted, the child is then legally
  the child of the marriage.
• Surrogacy is becoming more common and better
  understood by the general public, although it can
  still provoke some hostile responses and concerns
  about whether the surrogate mother will give up
  the baby when it is born. In fact, the great
  majority of surrogate babies are passed to their
  parents and the court grants a parental order
  without incident.

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Types of Surrogacy

• STRAIGHT (This is also known as Traditional
  Surrogacy) This method uses the egg of the
  Surrogate Mother and the sperm of the Intended
  Father. This can be performed in an IVF clinic,
  but more often the technique of Artificial
  Insemination happens at home. In this situation
  the baby is biologically related to the Intended
  Father and the Surrogate Mother. Although it is
  the simpler of the two types of surrogacy in as
  much as conceiving is less complicated, mentally
  it can be the hardest to accept. Not only for the
  Surrogate Mother to give up her own biological
  child, but also for the Intended Mother to accept
  a child which her husband has fathered with
  another woman.
• HOST (Also known as Gestational Surrogacy) This
  method uses the egg of the Intended Mother
  combined with the sperm of her husband or donor
  sperm. In this case an IVF clinic is always
  required. The Intended Father's sperm sometimes
  has to be frozen for 6 months. This depends on
  which clinic you choose to work with. A baby
  conceived by this method has no biological
  connection to the Surrogate Mother. This is by
  far the more difficult way to get pregnant. The
  chances of it working are low and it consumes a
  lot more time and energy to complete. However,
  many people feel more comfortable knowing the
  Surrogate Mother has no biological ties to the
  Surrogate baby she is to carry.

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Everyday Views on Surrogacy

• Surrogacy is legal in the United Kingdom and
  reasonable expenses can be paid to the Surrogate
  Mother. This can vary as every person's expenses
  will be different. Surrogacy Arrangements are not
  legally enforceable and therefore great care and
  time is needed before embarking on such a journey
  to prevent potential problems becoming too great
  to overcome afterwards.It is illegal to
  advertise for a Surrogate in this country like
  Surrogacy UK in order to receive support from
  others in the same position.
• Research carried out by the Family and Child
  Psychology Research Centre at London City
  university in 2002 showed surrogate mothers
  rarely had difficulty relinquishing rights to a
  surrogate child and that the commissioning
  mothers showed greater warmth to the child than
  mothers conceiving naturally.

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Religious Views on Surrogacy

• Religious attitudes to surrogacy varies. Roman
  catholic and Anglian Christian do not accept
  surrogacy because it contrary to the unity of
  marriage. Islam forbids surrogacy (pregnancy
  should be the fruit of a legitmate marriage).
  Surrogacy is not forbidden in both Jewish and
  Buddhist .