Surrogacy

Surrogacy A surrogacy arrangement is one in which one woman (the surrogate mother) agrees to host a child for a couple, and surrender it at birth. Although surrogacy is a very difficult process in Australia many couples are turning to this solution to have a baby due to many factors including infertility in women and single parents that want the chance to raise and love a child. There are many issues which make the process of surrogacy very complicated and hard for both the surrogate mothers and the intended parents. Some of the issues include the legal and religious ethical factors of surrogacy and also the more important moral and personal issues. Many people argue that it is difficult to compare surrogacy with other reproductive methods such as egg donation, as the surrogate mother is undergoing all the emotional, mental and physical feelings of pregnancy. Surrogacy may sound simple and fulfilling but the arguments never stop about whether it is right or wrong for a person to undertake this process, but in most cases it ends happily and one family has a child that they will love and raise. One of the major ethical factors associated with surrogacy is the legal side of the process. This factor is very complicated and can cause many problems for both the surrogate mother and the intended parents of the child. Many contracts and agreements have to be completed before the process of surrogacy gets underway. Although these agreements and contracts are not binding with the law, both parties are to agree with these consents before accepting the treatment. As these agreements are not binding with the law it makes it very easy for either of the parties to break these agreements and contracts. The woman who will carry the baby is legally the mother of the child and she cannot be compelled to give the baby away. This can cause many problems for the intended parents. Throughout the pregnancy the host becomes very emotionally and physically connected with the child and it could be very hard for her to give it away. The host of the baby also has to face that she is the legal mother of the baby as she gave birth to child, if the intended parents decide that they do not want the baby anymore, the host has to take guardianship. The process of surrogacy dates back to the biblical times and a well known biblical story is the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis chapter 16. In this story Abraham’s wife Sarah is unable to have children. Being ashamed with herself, she gave her servant Hargar to him to have his children. When Hargar had her child she did not want to give it up to Sarah so she kept it. As we can see from this story the bible does not forbid the use of surrogacy but questions whether it is ethical. Marriage is designed to be between two people, and children to be born of that union, to bring in a third party means that the child will have a third parent. When the baby is born many questions will arise such as, ‘will the baby know its surrogate mother'’ and ‘how will the child be expected to feel about the surrogate mother'’ All these questions have to be taken into consideration before deciding on the choice of surrogacy. The bible says that children are a gift, not a right. Surrogacy has caused a major argument in the scientific word, and many questions were asked in relation to this complicated process such as whose baby really is it. The sperm from the man and the egg from the woman originally makes it from the intended parents but shouldn’t the baby belong to the woman that gave birth to it and that is written on its birth certificate as its mother' Much argument was also over the failure to respect the human dignity of the child by ignoring the fact that its development in the uterus is an important part of the development of the child’s personality. Many people say that your personality is determined from the days that you are in your mother’s stomach. In this case there would be a connection to the baby’s surrogate mother and its development whilst in the stomach. A child is developing throughout all of its childhood years, but the most crucial part of its development is when it is grown from a tiny egg and a sperm to an actual human being. There is a biological and physiological bond between the child and the woman carrying it is of special significance and this is very important to the unborn life and the life of the mother and the relationship that coexists between the two. The process of surrogacy is when the surrogate mother nurtures the baby in her stomach until the time of birth when it is handed over to the intended parents. But ask yourself, is it truly humane to take a new-born baby away from its biological mother as soon as it has been born' I personally don’t think that the idea of surrogacy is a very successful method of assisted reproduction. Although reproductive cells from both the intended parents can be used in the process of developing the baby, I still think that the baby will have a strong connection with the host mother. The most important stages of a child’s grow and development should be the time that they are developing inside a mother’s stomach. This is where their life starts and they grow from a tiny egg and sperm into a human being. The most important reasoning of my judgment is that the intended parents have absolutely no control whatsoever of the surrogate mothers. The surrogate mother might agree to all the terms of surrogacy but you never know if she will change her mind half way throughout the process. This is a human beings life we are talking about and I think that it is totally unacceptable to be placing its life with someone that you hardly know well enough to lay this responsibility on. It is said that lawyers and solicitors should be called for this type of assisted reproduction incase anything happens, but lawyers and solicitors should not be needed in the first case, you should not have to worry about anything when you are trying to have a baby and especially not the fate of your baby and its intended mother. I do not think that the assisted reproduction method of surrogacy is a successful process and other assisted reproduction methods should be thoroughly considered before you put your baby in someone else’s body and trust them to give it back to you at birth. A surrogacy arrangement is one in which one woman (the surrogate mother) agrees to host a child for a couple, and surrender it at birth. The assisted reproduction method of surrogacy has been traced back to biblical times and had been used for many years throughout the world. Many people have very different thoughts and views about the method of surrogacy and these thoughts have been made very clear throughout society. Many couples that are unable to have children themselves have turned to surrogacy for a solution and it has been a very successful process but it has to not be forgotten that surrogacy is a very complicated method of assisted reproduction.