Surrogacy360

Article: “I Want to Explore Surrogacy”

kim-kardashian-surrogacy-conversation — Surrogacy was a topic of discussion on a recent episode of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.”

Kim Kardashian recently revealed in an episode of the reality TV show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” that she wants to explore surrogacy for a third child with her partner, Kanye West.

“If you use a surrogate, nobody has to know the whole time,” her sister Kourtney says in a clip from the show. “You could have a baby for a year and nobody would even know.”

This Daily Mail article from Nov. 7 describes the episode. It also chronicles other comments Kim has made about her first two pregnancies and her experience in both of a life-threatening condition called placenta accreta. This is a clinical condition resulting from the placenta, part of whole, attaching to the uterine wall.

Report: Perinatal Risks Associated with Assisted Reproductive Technology

Perinatal Risks Associated with Assisted Reproductive Technology
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists | Committee Opinion Number 671 | September 2016

Perinatal risks that may be associated with assisted reproductive technology (ART) and ovulation induction include multifetal gestations, prematurity, low birth weight, small for gestational age, perinatal mortality, cesarean delivery, placenta previa, abruptio placentae, preeclampsia, and birth defects. Although these risks are much higher in multifetal gestations, even singletons achieved with ART and ovulation induction may be at higher risk than singletons from naturally occurring pregnancies.

ACOG’s report recognizes the importance of ARTs for infertile couples but, in the spirit of informed consent, it provides a comprehensive outline of related perinatal risks.

To promote optimal outcomes, ACOG suggests that patients receive counseling and a thorough medical evaluation; and that obstetrician–gynecologists and other health care providers address maternal health problems or health conditions before initiating treatment and, when proceeding, make every appropriate effort to achieve a singleton gestation.

Read the full report >

Article: Cambodia Bans Booming Commercial Surrogacy Industry

Cambodia Bans Booming Commercial Surrogacy Industry
AFP | Nov. 3, 2016

[A] government edict sent to Cambodian fertility clinics and seen by AFP on Thursday (Nov 3) said that surrogacy was now “absolutely banned”.

Cambodia has become the latest country to ban surrogacy, following a government edict sent to all fertility clinics in the country.

Phon Puthborey, spokesman for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, describes this as a “transitional period” because the country does not have a law on the books but is looking for ways to effectively implement regulation.

“We are looking for (other) possible measures to respond to the matter effectively. It could be a surrogacy law that includes protections for women and children so that they would not become victims of trafficking,” he told AFP.

The article includes comments from a representative of Families Through Surrogacy, who describes Cambodia as “the last hope” after regulation in neighboring Thailand left many intended parents with fewer options.

Read the full article >

Journal: Transnational Reproductive Travel

Transnational Reproductive Travel
By International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, Vol. 7, No. 2 | University of Toronto Press | 2014

The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics provides a forum within bioethics for feminist thought and debate. It is sponsored by the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, and includes feminist scholarship on ethical issues related to health, health care, and the biomedical sciences.

Contributors to vol. 7, no. 2, titled Transnational Reproductive Travel, explore questions and ethics related to international commercial surrogacy, in countries such as Canada, Thailand, Japan, and Denmark. The issue also includes a commentary on the Hague Convention and a review of “Breeders: A Subclass of Women,” by Jennifer Lahl from Stop Surrogacy Now.

Read the issue >

Article: The Dark Side of Cambodia’s Surrogacy Boom

The Dark Side of Cambodia’s Surrogacy Boom
By Flora Bagenal | News Deeply | July 4, 2016

With bans in major hubs – India, Nepal, and Thailand – and surrogacy moving into Cambodia, this article explores the underbelly in a country rushing to fill a gap, with no laws and little preparation. It quotes a representative from a prominent surrogacy agency in Australia, concerned by the rapid growth, lack of procedure, and the potential for harm to gestational mothers. This opinion is juxtaposed with the experiences of intended parents that have traveled to Cambodia, one of whom is concerned that excessive media attention will eventually force the government to enact unsympathetic regulation.

Read the full article >

Report: More ART than Science

More ART than Science
Reproductive Health Technologies Project | 2016

screen-shot-2016-11-11-at-4-45-31-pm This report provides an overview of recent scientific literature on the long-term health effects of ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, a specific component of ART used during in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg donation, and egg freezing. It is not a complete literature review but, as described, “an overall assessment of what is and what is not currently known, followed by recommendations for how to improve the information available about this aspect of reproductive health care.”

This paper builds on work the Reproductive Health Technologies Project began in 2003, when the organization convened leaders from reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations and women’s health advocacy organizations to consider issues related to ARTs and emerging technologies.

Shortly after that convening, RHTP produced a white paper about ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval. This report provides an update to reflect the additional knowledge gained from the research that has taken place since RHTP’s earlier exploration of the field.

Read the full report >

Article: Is a Surrogate a Mother?

Is a Surrogate a Mother?
By Michelle Goldberg | Slate | Feb. 15, 2016

“Surrogacy’s been distinguished as something completely different from adoption,” says Lisa Ikemoto, a UC Davis School of Law professor who specializes in reproductive rights and bioethics. Unlike in adoption, there’s no legally required screening of intended parents. A pregnant woman who offers to give her baby up for adoption can reconsider her decision; in California, a pregnant surrogate cannot. To a large extent, the law “puts a lot of trust in a surrogacy center to make sure that these things are carried out appropriately,” Ikemoto says. “It’s very industry-friendly, and by ‘industry,’ I’m referring to the fertility industry.”

This article provides an overview of the Melissa Cook case — the story of a 47-year old woman in California who agreed to become a gestational mother and the “battle” that followed, between her and the intended parent, once she became pregnant with triplets.

Though based in the United States, a number of issues that emerged in the case have also been documented in international commercial surrogacy arrangements. This includes legal concerns related to contracts and their enforcement, practices that can impact the health of gestational mothers (such as reductions), and implications on the children that are born.

For those interested, the article also provides a lot of useful information on the 1986 Baby M case — the first contested surrogacy case in American history. Read the full article >

Film: Can We See the Baby Bump Please?

Can We See the Baby Bump Please?
Director: Surabhi Sharma | 2013

“Can We See the Baby Bump Please?” is a detailed exploration of commercial surrogacy in India. It includes interviews with gestational mothers, providing rare and important glimpses into their lives and the contexts within which they make the decision to enter surrogacy relationships. The film was produced by Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, one of Surrogacy360’s global partners.

From film director Surabhi Sharma’s website:

The global reach of medical tourism and commercial surrogacy spawns a range of clinics and practices across big cities and small towns in India. Anonymous, often with limited choice, woman’s labour is yet again pushed into the background. A whiff of immorality, the absence of regulation and the erasure of the surrogate’s experience collude to produce a climate of callousness. May we see the baby bump please? meets with surrogates, doctors, law firms,agents, and family in an attempt to understand the context of surrogacy in India.

For more information on the film, including a link to purchase, visit Magic Lantern Movies.

Plus: Following a screening of “Can We See the Baby Bump Please?” at Harvard University in 2015, Judy Norsigian, co-founder and former executive director of Our Bodies Ourselves, and I. Glenn Cohen, faculty director of the Petrie-Flom Center and a professor at Harvard Law School, discussed the legal and human rights issues surrounding surrogacy and egg donation in a global context:

Article: Republic of Unreason

Republic of Unreason
By Suhrith Parthasarathy | The Hindu | Sept. 1, 2016

Now, there is little doubting that any reasonable government ought to concern itself at some level with the ethics of procreation, especially given the power equations at play in a contract of surrogacy. But is a complete proscription on commercial surrogacy a neutral position to take?

Framed by the death of a 30-year-old gestational mother in India in 2011, and the contract she signed agreeing to life support in order to protect the fetus in the event of life-threatening injury in the third trimester, this opinion article provides a critique of the Indian government’s recent ban on all commercial surrogacy.

Suhrith Parthasarathy comments on the requirements articulated in the new law — for intended parents, gestational mothers, and the money exchanged in between — highlighting flawed assumptions made by the bill and its “violation” of the constitutional pledge of equal treatment.

Read the full article >

Article: Inconvenient Truths About Commercial Surrogacy

Inconvenient Truths About Commercial Surrogacy
By Kathleen Sloan and Jennifer Lahl | TwinCities Pioneer Press | March 31, 2014

The surrogacy industry, however, is like a hydra that refuses to respect legislative precedent. As soon as a surrogacy bill is defeated, another one immediately appears to take its place. In action more characteristic of a dictatorship than a democracy, the proponents of contract pregnancy insist on enforcing their will no matter how many times their discredited proposal is rejected.

Framed by Minnesota’s efforts in 2014 to regulate commercial surrogacy, this article reflects the views of the authors on the practice – most importantly, on its commodification of women’s bodies and the health, legal, and social risks to gestational mothers.

The authors are co-founders of a campaign called Stop Surrogacy Now. The initiative’s website claims to bring together a “worldwide, ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse group opposed to the exploitation of women and the human trafficking of children through surrogacy.”

Read the full article >