Danielle Braff | The New York Times | April 2, 2022
The pandemic introduced new disconnects between surrogate and biological parents, including vaccine mandates, unemployment, and travel bans. As a result, there has been a 60% decrease in potential surrogates, doubled wait times, and significantly increased fees.
Laura Lynott | Independent.ie | February 13, 2022
14 babies were born to surrogates between May 2021 and present-day in Ukraine, which is currently under threat of invasion by Russian military forces. The Irish intended parents, advised against traveling to Ukraine under the current circumstances, may need to pay 88 Euros a day for nannies to care for their children.
Jo Deahl | BBC News | September 22, 2021
Current law in the United Kingdom states that the surrogate is the legal mother when the child is born, and that legal parentage must be transferred through a parental order. Because the law also outlaws surrogacy advertisements, intended parents have turned to social media to find surrogacy matches, especially since non-profit organizations have long waiting lists. Both government officials and those who have started families through surrogacy agree that UK surrogacy law needs to be updated.
By Netael Bandel, Lee Yaron, and Johnathan Lis | Haaretz | February 28, 2020
For years, LGBTQ rights advocates in Israel have been fighting to broaden surrogacy rights. On February 20th, the High Court of Justice ruled that an existing bill prohibiting single men and gay couples from accessing surrogacy was unconstitutional. As this article explains, the state now has one year to amend the law.
By Morgan Brinlee | Romper | October 25, 2019
A new documentary from Independent Lens called Made in Boise tells the stories of four Idaho women who act as surrogates and the intended parents who compensate them for carrying pregnancies. As this article and video clip explain, one of the surprises in the documentary is the revelation that some intended parents experience postpartum depression after the births of their babies.
By David Dodge | New York Times Parenting | October 11, 2019
This primer for intended parents offers a basic overview of surrogacy terms and concepts, and a realistic look at the financial, emotional, and legal issues they can expect to encounter during a surrogacy journey.
Misconceptions
By Reveal | The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX | Sept. 15, 2018
Originally broadcast in June 2017, around the 40th anniversary of in vitro fertilization, this podcast follows a couple that “puts its trust in a fertility clinic that promises more than it can deliver.” It explores the world of fertility treatment and the clinics and intended parents it brings together with promises of forming families.
Spanish Couples Undergoing Surrogacy Processes Left in Legal Limbo in Ukraine
By Silvia Blanco | El País | Aug. 31, 2018
As Ukraine transforms into a desirable hub for international commercial surrogacy, concerns are emerging. This article – like others found here – touches on irregularities and poor quality of care at fertility clinics, and focuses on the 30 Spanish intended parents unable to obtain passports from the Spanish Consulate in Kiev for their children amidst fears of the trafficking of minors.
Baby Guaranteed
By BBC World Service – Boston Calling | July 16, 2018
In a follow up on Ukraine, journalists travel to the country to meet with gestational mothers and fertility clinic representatives on the growing demand for surrogacy.
A review of the program by Melanie Krause is also available on BioNews.
Japanese Man Wins Sole Custody of 13 Surrogacy Children
By Daniel Hurst | The Guardian | Feb. 20, 2018
In a saga that started in 2014, one of the richest men in Japan has just been granted custody of children he commissioned from Thai gestational mothers. In its ruling, the central juvenile court “found the father had no history of bad behaviour and would provide for the children’s happiness.”
This case first came to light in the regulatory upheaval following the case of Baby Gammy in Thailand, and resulted in the country’s eventual ban on international commercial surrogacy. It continues to raise questions as, according to Sam Everingham, a director of the Australia-based consultancy Families Through Surrogacy, an example of “an unacceptable abuse of the limited pool of gestational surrogates globally” and, more broadly, the ethics of a practice that does not protect the rights of the women and children involved.
