San Beda University, April 2021, Meta-Analysis Stem-Two Publication

Surrogacy: A scientific alternative way

Banayat, L. L., Bojador, P. J., Corpuz, M. P., Latoga, K. J., Mercado, A., & Pagador, Y. N.
San Beda University, Manila Campus, Metro Manila, Philippines

Surrogacy has made it possible for both men and women who are struggling with infertility or with any
other circumstances that holds them back from bearing a child. This article aims to give further discussion on the
overview, societal and ethical issues associated with surrogacy, as well as its overall relevance for all those
couples who would otherwise not have been able to bear a child. Previous research has primarily discussed that
surrogacy was most likely has been used through the ages in helping women who are unable to bear children
themselves. It was further elaborated that aassisted reproductive technology has successfully enabled both
partners in a relationship to use their own gametes to create their own unique embryos and for these embryos to
be transferred to a surrogate host. Moreover, it was also stated that surrogacy having two types, namely: traditional
and gestational, is a significant medical service, as “IVF surrogacy” a type of gestational surrogacy, has become
an accepted treatment option for women in certain countries with these unique circumstances. However, it became
one of the most controversial procedures in the field of assisted reproduction of the 21st Century. Consequently,
surrogacy could be practiced harmoniously, if delicate issues associated with surrogacy will be addressed
properly, through appropriately framed laws which would protect the rights of surrogate mothers, intended
parents, and child born through surrogacy.

Keywords: Surrogacy, IVF Surrogacy, Surrogacy, Infertility, Pregnancy

Introduction

The word “Surrogate” comes from the Latin
word “Subrogare” which translates in English as “to
substitute”. To illustrate, it literally means
“appointed to act in the place of.” where it serves as
a substitute, particularly for a person acting upon for
someone in a specific role. Surrogacy according to
Patel et al. (2018), is an important fertility treatment,
wherein advent of In Vitro fertilization (IVF) has
made motherhood possible for women without
uterus, with uterine anomalies preventing
pregnancies, with serious medical problems, or with
other contraindications for pregnancy, to achieve
motherhood through the use of embryo created by
themselves or through donors, which then is
transferred to the uterus of gestational carrier. A
technique called In Vitro fertilization (IVF) now
1
makes it possible to gather eggs from the mother,
fertilize them with sperm from the father, and place
the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate.
The surrogate then carries the baby until birth, hence
they do not have any genetic ties to the child because
it wasn't their egg that was used. A gestational
surrogate is called the "birth mother.", though the
biological mother is still the woman whose egg was
fertilized. To further expound, based on an article
published by the Journal of Reproductive Sciences in
2018, surrogacy can be traced back with ancient
history as the earliest mention of the term
“surrogacy” is in the Old Testament of the Holy
Bible (Genesis 16:1-15). This clearly shows that it
was most likely, surrogacy has been used through the
ages in helping women who are unable to bare
San Beda University, April 2021, Meta-Analysis
children themselves. However, there were no
specific incidences are recorded in the medical
history texts. Not until the introduction of the modern
assisted reproductive techniques, as according to
Brinsden (2003), “traditional or partial surrogacy”
was the only means of helping women who had no
uterus or major abnormalities of the uterus to have
children. Furthermore, in more recent years, artificial
insemination, either intracervical or intrauterine, has
been used to inseminate surrogate hosts with the
semen of the male partner of the couple wishing to
have the child; this being more socially acceptable
than by the “natural way”.
Issues associated with surrogacy
Meanwhile, according to an article written by
Jadva (2003), the practice of surrogacy, whereby one
woman bears a child for another woman, is one of the
most controversial procedures in the field of assisted
reproduction. Media coverage of surrogacy
arrangements has tended to focus on the negative
aspects of surrogacy. This was further supported by
an organization of women called Breeders (2020),
with their claim, “Surrogacy: A 21st Century Human
Rights Challenge”. Where they have stated that, the
growing surrogacy phenomenon in which women
agree to have their bodies used to undergo a
pregnancy and give birth to the resulting baby is
becoming a major issue of the 21st century.
Surrogacy is often referred to as “womb renting”
wherein a bodily service is provided for a fee. The
practice is fraught with complexity and controversy
surrounding the implications for women’s health and
human rights generally. Society is only beginning to
grapple with the issues that it raises. Increasingly,
surrogates function as gestational carriers, carrying a
pregnancy to delivery after having been implanted
with an embryo. Since the surrogate usually has no
biological relationship to the child, she has no legal
claim and the surrogate’s name does not appear on
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the birth certificate. In the United States there is no
national regulation of surrogacy and its fifty states
constitute a patchwork quilt of policies and laws,
ranging from outright bans to no regulation.
Furthermore, this organization firmly stand
that few of the many issues raised by surrogacy
include: the rights of the children produced; the
ethical and practical ramifications of the further
commodification of women’s bodies; the
exploitation of poor and low-income women
desperate for money; the moral and ethical
consequences of transforming a normal biological
function of a woman’s body into a commercial
transaction. It is also seen as another form of the
commodification of women’s bodies. Surrogate
services are advertised, surrogates are recruited, and
operating agencies make large profits. The
commercialism of surrogacy raises fears of a black
market and baby selling, of breeding farms, turning
impoverished women into baby producers and the
possibility of selective breeding at a price. Surrogacy
degrades a pregnancy to a service and a baby to a
product. Similarly, The Center for Bioethics and
Culture (2020), has been in the forefront of the
movement demanding morally responsible science
for over a decade. Based on their stand, they indeed
call for a cessation of this practice that exploits
women’s bodies and endangers their health,
disregards the human rights of the children produced,
and commodifies human life, turning the miracle of
birth into just another commercial transaction and
business opportunity for endless profit generation.
The relevance of surrogacy
As what Simple Surrogacy (2020) had
revealed, intended parents come from all different
backgrounds — many are same-sex couples or
hopeful single parents who are ready to start a family,
while others have struggled for years with infertility
San Beda University, April 2021, Meta-Analysis
and have exhausted their fertility treatment options.
However, all of these intended parents have one thing
in common: a strong desire to add to their families.
For these couples and individuals, surrogacy makes
this dream possible. Assisted reproductive
technology has enabled both partners in a
relationship to use their own gametes to create their
own unique embryos and for these embryos to be
transferred to a surrogate host. And base on the
expounding of Hadeja (2018), Surrogacy has two
types: traditional and gestational. Traditional
(genetic/partial/straight) surrogacy is the result of
artificial insemination of the surrogate mother with
the intended father's sperm, making her a genetic
parent along with the intended father. Conversely,
Gestational surrogacy (host/full surrogacy) is
defined as arrangement in which an embryo from the
intended parents or from a donated oocyte or sperm
is transferred to the surrogate uterus. The surrogate
mother undergoes In Vitro Fertilization, in which an
embryo is transferred into her uterus. The embryo is
not formed from eggs from the surrogate mother in
this case – the egg and sperm cells will both come
from the intended parents or from donors. The
surrogate mother’s uterus simply acts as a host in
which the baby will grow and thrive for nine months.
So, under gestational surrogacy, there is no genetic
or DNA relationship between the baby and the
surrogate mother, and no chance that the baby will
resemble the surrogate mother. This technique has
also made it possible for gay couples and single men
to achieve fatherhood by having embryo created with
their sperm and donor oocytes. In addition, it was
further elaborated by Tinker (2019), that for
heterosexual couples who want to have children,
surrogacy is often one of the last options they
consider, following time-consuming and emotionally
and physically exhausting consultations with a
fertility specialist. But for gay couples who want
kids, surrogacy is one of only two options (the other
being adoption). As this an important medical service
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for all those couples who would otherwise not have
been able to produce a child. “IVF surrogacy” has
become an accepted treatment option for women in
certain countries with these unique circumstances.
As this would be practiced harmoniously if delicate
issues associated with surrogacy will be addressed
properly through appropriately framed laws which
would protect the rights of surrogate mothers,
intended parents, and child born through surrogacy.
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