Surrogacy has been a topic of controversy for as long as I can remember. The debates about its ethicality are always at the forefront, but there is so much more to surrogacy. While I am not an expert on this topic, the Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia is! And luckily, they graced us with a very informative piece on surrogacy: the pros, cons, and everything in between!
Enjoy!
Surrogacy services are no longer a rarity in the modern world. Women who want to be surrogate mothers for couples who otherwise would not be able to become parents are discovering the process. It’s a fact that the benefits of using a reputable surrogate agency far outweigh the challenges of the process.
Anyone who wants to learn more about becoming a participant in the process, as a mother or an intended parent, should study the topic, beginning with the general points listed below.
Benefits of Surrogacy
Surrogacy offers multiple benefits for the intended parents and the women who carry the child from conception to birth. The following represent just a few of the pluses for all parties involved.
Compensation
Women who carry babies for others are compensated financially and get excellent medical services, emotional support, and more. In addition, agencies compensate for their time, effort, risks undertaken, and emotional challenges before, during, and after birth.
Legal Protection
Agencies take care of all the legal issues to ensure parents and surrogates understand their rights and receive full legal assistance from beginning to end.
Community
Surrogate moms enjoy a unique community of support and camaraderie from others who have been through the process.
The Experience of Pregnancy
For some women, the experience of carrying a child to term is gratifying and life-affirming. These women tend to make wonderful surrogates and are happy to have a chance to help others become parents.
The Gift of Parenthood
The ability of a woman to give the gift of parenthood to someone else is at the very heart of what it means to be a surrogate mother. In addition to financial compensation, legal help, and emotional support, women who choose to enter the process get the long-term reward of knowing they could give a unique gift to others wanting to become parents.
Challenges of the Process
Physical and emotional demands are two challenges of using surrogacy to bring a child into the world. Here are pertinent details about each one.
Physical Demands
Surrogacy services take care of all the screenings, medical appointments, and various fertility treatment sessions that are part of a well-structured, safe surrogacy program. The surrogate agency can help alleviate most of the physical demands women deal with when they help someone else enjoy the rewards of parenthood.
Emotional Complexities
There are many stressful aspects of pregnancy, and women who work with reputable organizations can get excellent counseling to help them deal with the many natural emotions that accompany carrying a baby to term.
Health-Related Risks
There are health-related challenges with any pregnancy, surrogate-based or not. Fortunately, all women who choose to give birth and work with a reliable agency get the best healthcare available. In many cases, surrogate mothers indeed receive much better care than non-surrogates, but still, like every pregnant woman, they should be careful about their habits and living conditions.
Controversies About Surrogacy
Even though surrogacy is not new, several social controversies surround the process. Some show up as myths or misinformation in the media and elsewhere, but some are founded on good-standing arguments. Intended parents and future surrogates need to understand these myths and the arguments behind each one. Here are the pertinent details.
“Surrogacy is Just a ‘Rent-A-Womb’ Compensation Scheme For Greedy People”
There are reasonable arguments to support these claims, especially those related to commercial surrogacy issues predominantly present in the media. But, also far from the accusation about being a rent-a-womb financial arrangement, the surrogacy process is about doing good works for couples who would otherwise remain childless. Moreover, the compensation paid to the surrogate is fair because it considers the surrogate’s time, physical risks, mental stress, and potential side effects. Additionally, there are arguments supporting women’s right to use their reproductive capacities as they find acceptable, especially since it doesn’t collide with the autonomy of others.
Moral Stigma
For all sorts of reasons, some based on compensation dilemmas, some on religious beliefs, and others on personal opinions, some people view the entire concept of surrogacy as a moral wrong. Indeed, some faiths teach that surrogacy is “unnatural” and sinful. That’s their right; people are free to believe as they wish.
Nevertheless, surrogacy is a moral good for those who see it as a way to give the gift of life to couples who can’t have their own children. In the end, folks who look askance at the process will avoid it, and those who understand the many positive features of the process will use it to help bring life into the world and nurture the many unique benefits of surrogacy.
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Other Controversies
Same-sex couples can legally become parents and opt for surrogate services, regardless of what nay-sayers think. Additionally, reputable agencies will make additional efforts to ensure surrogates are not “in it for the money.” Finally, gestational surrogacy minimizes the chance that a woman will become attached to a child that is not biologically her own.
Other arguments against surrogacy include that it helps same-sex couples become parents, causes some women to get involved only for monetary compensation, and makes it harder for women to “give up” the baby. Some of these anti-surrogacy stances include misinformation as a basis for their objections as well.
Where Things Stand Today
While there are controversies surrounding surrogate motherhood, the industry is thriving and growing as medical science advances to ensure the process is safe and effective. As a result, more women opt to use reliable, professional services to offer their child-bearing services to others.
Likewise, hundreds of thousands of couples are coming to rely on respected agencies to connect them with women who can make their dreams of having a family come true. However, the growing popularity of surrogacy motherhood doesn’t mean that a healthy critical stance is not needed to evaluate concerns and questions that are still going strong.
