Surrogacy in the treatment of female infertility

Is it true that all means are good in the fight against female and male infertility? There is no unequivocal opinion on this subject, however, if you imagine the state of complete despair experienced by a married couple who is unable for some reason to have a baby, the answer to this question may seem more obvious.

If a couple cannot get a long-awaited baby even after going through all the procedures aimed at eliminating the causes of infertility, quite often she resortes to the help of a surrogate mother. Surrogate motherhood can also be a salvation for those women who have had their uterus surgically removed or have contraindications for bearing a child. Modern technologies make it possible for a child born by another woman to be genetically related to a married couple. This method is most acceptable for future parents, as it cancels the psychological discomfort from the realization that the child is completely alien.

The husband’s egg fertilized by the husband’s sperm is transferred to the surrogate mother’s body, where it survives with a probability of more than 50%, giving rise to embryo development.

However, despite the obvious simplicity of solving the problem, there are opponents of surrogate motherhood. Usually their complaints are as follows:

• the child actually turns into a product, and the surrogate mother herself can begin to perceive this situation as a way to earn more money, which profane the very concept of motherhood,
• feminist movements consider this situation unacceptable, as a woman turns into an instrument of exploitation,
• religious organizations consider the practice of surrogate motherhood dehumanizing and destroying the sanctity of marriage,
• psychologists say that a surrogate mother has to experience a serious psychological shock when transferring to the family a child whom she can feel “her” for 9 months of gestation.

Supporters of surrogacy also strongly argue their position:

• surrogate motherhood really helps to get married couples who are already desperate to have one, while, in fact, this process is not much different from adoption, which is considered a legal procedure,
• the act of the surrogate mother should not be regarded as commercial, because the consciousness that she brings real help to the couple stems from the understanding of the need to commit an act of love and humanistic cooperation,
• a surrogate mother is not considered exploited, as she consciously takes this step and can receive material compensation and moral satisfaction from the benefits made to society.