SURROGACY BOOMS IN INDIA
BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU,NOBEL LAUREATE
The art and science of Surrogacy involves a man and his
female partner donating their spermatozoa and an ovum or female egg to an external party and in this case a third party which is
usually female for the sole purpose of procreation…
In the clinical process scientifically the art of fertilization occurs
externally before the factor is then
placed as an insert to develop as a fetus
in the womb of third party.
In an exclusive chat with The News office Desk of the
E.N.M.Paedia Express Multimedia Group of Lagos,Nigeria ,on the phenomena recently
an impeccable source said that surrogacy
was actually a big profession in India,Asia’s Mini continent.
He explained that usually there was an agency that was involved and they are the one that
link all the vital parties together so that the child could be conceived .
He revealed that he actually has a friend whose set of twins
with his wife was conceived in this manner.
The source insisted that there was no physical sign that showed that an Indian was
involved in the birth process as both twins resembled their Nigerian parents
100 percent…
According to him ,the third party in the deal is
quartered by the employing agency for
the period of the nine months she was expected to carry the baby in her womb..
The source pointed out that at the usual stage of child birth
in 9 months ,the surrogate mummy is
allowed to breast feed the child for two months before the suckling infant is
then finally taken from her and then given to her” birth parents”
The source added that the employing agency in the surrogacy
deal does everything possible at making sure that there is no special bond
created between the surrogate mother and the infant..
This reporter has seen a non-lactating grandmother breast
feeding her grandson recently thus helping to push the surrogacy discourse to a
new frontier in the global health care system.
This reporter has also seen a Nigerian medical doctor friend
of his discuss having surrogate client recently in Lagos,Nigeria thus showing
that the practice was becoming popular among the nations elites
ADDITIONAL
EDITORIAL CONTENT PROVIDED BY GOOGLE AND WIKIPAEDIA NEWS SERVICES
Surrogacy
.
Intended parents attend
the birth of their child by a gestational surrogate.
Surrogacy is an arrangement,
often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman (the surrogate mother)
agrees to bear a child for another person or persons, who will become the
child's parent(s) after birth.
People may seek a
surrogacy arrangement when pregnancy is medically impossible, when pregnancy risks are too dangerous for the
intended mother, or when a single man or a male couple wish to have a child.
Surrogacy is considered one of many assisted
reproductive technologies.
In surrogacy
arrangements, monetary compensation may or may not be involved. Receiving money
for the arrangement is known as commercial surrogacy. The legality and cost of
surrogacy varies widely between jurisdictions, sometimes resulting in
problematic international or interstate surrogacy arrangements. Couples seeking
a surrogacy arrangement in a country where it is banned sometimes travel to a
jurisdiction that permits it. In some countries, surrogacy is legal only if
money does not exchange hands. (See surrogacy laws by
country and fertility tourism.)
Where commercial
surrogacy is legal, couples may use the help of third-party agencies to assist
in the process of surrogacy by finding a surrogate and arranging a surrogacy
contract with her. These agencies often screen surrogates' psychological and
other medical tests to ensure the best chance of healthy gestation and
delivery. They also usually facilitate all legal matters concerning the
intended parents and the surrogate.
Methods[edit]
Surrogacy may be either
traditional or gestational, which are differentiated by the genetic origin of
the egg. Gestational surrogacy tends to be more common than traditional
surrogacy and is considered less legally complex.[1]
Traditional[edit]
A traditional surrogacy
(also known as partial, natural, or straight surrogacy) is one where the
surrogate's egg is fertilised in vivo by the intended father's
or a donor's sperm. Insemination of the surrogate can be either through natural
or artificial
insemination. Using the sperm of a donor results in a child who is
not genetically related to the intended parent(s). If the intended father's
sperm is used in the insemination, the resulting child is genetically related
to both the intended father and the surrogate.[2]
In some cases,
insemination may be performed privately by the parties without the intervention
of a doctor or physician. In some jurisdictions, the intended parents using
donor sperm need to go through an adoption process to have legal parental
rights of the resulting child. Many fertility centres that provide for
surrogacy assist the parties through the legal process.
Gestationa
Gestational surrogacy
(also known as host or full surrogacy[3]) was first achieved in April 1986.[4] It takes place when an embryo created by in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology is
implanted in a surrogate, sometimes called a gestational carrier. Gestational surrogacy has several forms,
and in each form, the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the
surrogate:
·
The embryo is created using the intended
father's sperm and the intended mother's eggs;
·
The embryo is created using the intended
father's sperm and a donor egg;
·
The embryo is created using the intended
mother's egg and donor sperm;
·
A donor embryo is transferred to a surrogate.
Such an embryo may be available when others undergoing IVF have
embryos left over, which they donate to others. The resulting child is
genetically unrelated to the intended parent(s).[5]
Risks[edit]
The embryo implanted in
gestational surrogacy faces the same risks as anyone using IVF would.
Preimplantation risks of the embryo include unintentional epigenetic effects,
influence of media which the embryo is cultured on, and undesirable
consequences of invasive manipulation of the embryo. Often, multiple embryos
are transferred to increase the chance of implantation, and if multiple
gestations occur, both the surrogate and the embryos face higher risks of
complications.[6]
Gestational surrogates
have a smaller chance of having hypertensive
disorder during pregnancy compared to mothers pregnant by oocyte donation. This is possibly because
surrogate mothers tend to be healthier and more fertile than women who use
oocyte donation. Surrogate mothers also have low rates of placenta praevia / placental abruptions (1.1-7.9%).[7]
Children born through
singleton IVF surrogacy have been shown to have no physical or mental
abnormalities compared to those children born through natural conception.
However, children born through multiple gestation in surrogate mothers often
result in preterm labor and delivery, resulting in prematurity and physical
and/or mental anomalies.[6]
Outcomes[edit]
Among gestational
surrogacy arrangements, between 19%-33% of gestational surrogates will
successfully become pregnant from an embryo transfer. Of these cases, 30-70% will
successfully allow the intended parent(s) to become parent(s) of the resulting
child.[8]
For surrogate pregnancies
where only one child is born, the preterm birth rate in surrogacy is
marginally lower than babies born from standard IVF (11.5% vs 14%). Babies born
from surrogacy also have similar average gestational age as infants born
through in vitro fertilization and oocyte donation; approximately 37 weeks.
Preterm birth rate was higher for surrogate twin pregnancies compared to single
births. There are fewer babies with low birth weight when born through
surrogacy compared to those born through in vitro fertilization but both
methods have similar rates of birth defects.[7]
Indications for surrogacy[edit]
Opting for surrogacy is
often a choice made when women are unable to carry children on their own. This
can be for a number of reasons, including an abnormal uterus or a complete
absence of a uterus either congenitally (also known as Mayer-Roakitansky-Kuster-Hauser
syndrome)[9] or post-hysterectomy.[10] Women may have a hysterectomy due to complications in
childbirth such as heavy bleeding or a ruptured uterus. Medical diseases such
as cervical cancer or
endometrial cancer can also lead to surgical removal of the uterus.[10] Past implantation failures,
history of multiple miscarriages, or concurrent severe heart or renal
conditions that can make pregnancy harmful may also prompt women to consider
surrogacy.[11] The biological impossibility
of single men and same-sex couples having a baby also may indicate surrogacy as
an option.[11]
Gestational surrogacy[edit]
In gestational surrogacy,
the child is not biologically related to the surrogate mother, who is often
referred to as a gestational carrier. Instead, the embryo is created via in
vitro fertilization (IVF), using the eggs and sperm of the intended parents or
donors, and is then transferred to the surrogate.
According to
recommendations made by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology and American
Society for Reproductive Medicine, a gestational carrier is
preferably between the ages of 21 and 45, has had one full-term, uncomplicated
pregnancy where she successfully had at least one child, and
has had no more than five deliveries or three Caesarean sections.[8]
The International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics recommends
that the surrogate's autonomy should be
respected throughout the pregnancy even if her wishes conflict with what the
intended parents want.[8]
The most commonly
reported motivation given by gestational surrogates is an altruistic desire to help a childless
couple.[8] Other less commonly given
reasons include enjoying the experience of pregnancy, and financial
compensation.[12]
History[edit]
Main
article: Surrogacy laws by
country
Having another woman bear
a child for a couple to raise, usually with the male half of the couple as the
genetic father, has been referenced since the ancient times. Babylonian law
and custom allowed
this practice, and a woman unable to give birth could use the practice to avoid
a divorce, which would otherwise be inevitable.[13][14]
Many developments in
medicine, social customs, and legal proceedings around the world paved the way
for modern surrogacy:[15]
·
1936 – In the U.S., drug companies Schering-Kahlbaum and Parke-Davis started the pharmaceutical
production of estrogen.
·
1944 – Harvard Medical
School professor John Rock became
the first person to fertilize human ovum outside
the uterus.
·
1953 – Researchers successfully
performed the first cryopreservation of
sperm.
·
1976 – Michigan lawyer Noel
Keane wrote the first surrogacy contract in the United States.[16]
·
1978 – Louise Brown, the first "test-tube
baby", was born in England, the product of the first successful IVF
procedure.
·
1985–1986 – A woman carried the first
successful gestational surrogate pregnancy.[17]
·
1986 – Melissa Stern, otherwise known
as "Baby M," was born in the U.S. The
surrogate and biological mother, Mary Beth Whitehead, refused to give up
custody of Melissa to the couple with whom she made the surrogacy agreement.
The courts of New Jersey found
that Whitehead was the child's legal mother and declared contracts for
surrogate motherhood illegal and invalid. However, the court found it in the
best interest of the infant to award custody of Melissa to the child's
biological father, William Stern, and his wife Elizabeth Stern, rather than to
Whitehead, the surrogate mother.
·
1990 – In California, gestational carrier Anna Johnson
refused to give up the baby to intended parents Mark and Crispina Calvert. The
couple sued her for custody (Calvert
v. Johnson), and the court upheld their parental rights. In
doing so, it legally defined the true mother as the woman who, according to the
surrogacy agreement, intends to create and raise a child.
Psychological concerns[edit]
Surrogate[edit]
Anthropological studies
of surrogates have shown that surrogates engage in various distancing
techniques throughout the surrogate pregnancy so as to ensure that they do not
become emotionally attached to the baby.[18][19][20] Many surrogates intentionally
try to foster the development of emotional attachment between the intended
mother and the surrogate child.[21]
Some surrogates describe
feeling empowered by the experience.[19][22]
Although gestational
surrogates generally report being satisfied with their experience as
surrogates, there are cases in which they are not.[23] Unmet expectations are
associated with dissatisfaction. Some women did not feel a certain level of
closeness with the couple and others did not feel respected by the couple. Some
gestational surrogates report emotional distress during the process of
surrogacy. There may be a lack of access to therapy and emotional support through
the surrogate process.
Gestational surrogates
may struggle with postpartum depression and
issues with relinquishing the child to their intended parents.[24] Immediate postpartum
depression has been observed in gestational surrogates at a rate of 0-20%. Some
surrogates report negative feelings with relinquishing rights to the child immediately
after birth, but most negative feelings resolve after some time.
Child
and parents[edit]
A systematic review[24] of 55 studies examining the
outcomes for surrogacy for surrogate mothers and resulting families showed that
there were no major psychological differences in children up to the age of 10
years old that were born from surrogacy compared to those children born from
other assisted reproductive technology or those children conceived naturally.
Gay men who have become
fathers using surrogacy have reported similar experiences to those as other
couples who have used surrogacy, including their relationships both their child
and their surrogate.[25]
A study has followed a
cohort of 32 surrogacy, 32 egg donation, and 54 natural conception families
through to age seven, reporting the impact of surrogacy on the families and
children at ages one,[26] two,[27] and seven.[28] At age one, parents through
surrogacy showed greater psychological well-being and adaptation to parenthood
than those who conceived naturally; there were no differences in infant
temperament. At age two, parents through surrogacy showed more positive
mother–child relationships and less parenting stress on the part of fathers
than their natural conception counterparts; there were no differences in child
development between these two groups. At age seven, the surrogacy and egg
donation families showed less positive mother–child interaction than the
natural conception families, but there were no differences in maternal positive
or negative attitudes or child adjustment. The researchers concluded that the
surrogacy families continued to function well.
Legal issues[edit]
The legality of surrogacy
varies around the world. Many countries do not have laws which specifically
deal with surrogacy. Some countries ban surrogacy outright, while others ban
commercial surrogacy but allow altruistic surrogacy (in which the surrogate is
not financially compensated). Some countries allow commercial surrogacy, with
few restrictions. Some jurisdictions extend a ban on surrogacy to international
surrogacy. In some jurisdictions rules applicable to adoptions apply while others do not
regulate the practice.
The US, Ukraine, Russia
and Georgia have the most liberal laws in the world, allowing commercial
surrogacy, including for foreigners.[29] Several Asian countries used
to have liberal laws, but the practice has since been restricted. In 2015,
Thailand banned commercial surrogacy, and restricted altruistic surrogacy to
Thai couples.[30] In 2016, Cambodia also banned
commercial surrogacy.[30] Nepal, Mexico, and India have
also recently banned foreign commercial surrogacy.[31] Surrogacy is legal and common
in Iran; and monetary remuneration is practiced and allowed by religious
authorities.[32][33]
Laws dealing with
surrogacy must deal with:
·
enforceability of surrogacy agreements. In
some jurisdictions, they are void or prohibited, and some jurisdictions
distinguish between commercial and altruistic surrogacy.
·
the different issues raised by traditional
and gestational surrogacy
·
mechanisms for the legal recognition of the
intended parents as the legal parents, either by pre-birth orders or by
post-birth adoption
Although laws differ
widely from one jurisdiction to another, some generalizations are possible:[citation needed]
The historical legal
assumption has been that the woman giving birth to a child is that child's
legal mother, and the only way for another woman to be recognized as the mother
is through adoption (usually requiring the birth mother's formal abandonment of
parental rights).
Even in jurisdictions
that do not recognize surrogacy arrangements, if the potential adoptive parents
and the birth mother proceed without any intervention from the government and
do not change their mind along the way, they will likely be able to achieve the
effects of surrogacy by having the surrogate mother give birth and then give
the child up for private adoption to the intended parents.
If the jurisdiction
specifically bans surrogacy, however, and authorities find out about the arrangement,
there may be financial and legal consequences for the parties involved. One
jurisdiction (Quebec) prevented the genetic mother's
adoption of the child even though that left the child with no legal mother.[34]
Some jurisdictions
specifically prohibit only commercial and not altruistic surrogacy. Even
jurisdictions that do not prohibit surrogacy may rule that surrogacy contracts
(commercial, altruistic, or both) are void. If the contract is either
prohibited or void, then there is no recourse if one party to the agreement has
a change of heart: if a surrogate changes her mind and decides to keep the child,
the intended mother has no claim to the child even if it is her genetic
offspring, and the couple cannot get back any money they may have paid the
surrogate; if the intended parents change their mind and do not want the child
after all, the surrogate cannot get any money to make up for the expenses, or
any promised payment, and she will be left with legal custody of the child.
Jurisdictions that permit
surrogacy sometimes offer a way for the intended mother, especially if she is
also the genetic mother, to be recognized as the legal mother without going
through the process of abandonment and adoption. Often this is via a birth
order[35] in which a court rules on the
legal parentage of a child. These orders usually require the consent of all
parties involved, sometimes even including the husband of a married gestational
surrogate. Most jurisdictions provide for only a post-birth order, often out of
an unwillingness to force the surrogate mother to give up parental rights if
she changes her mind after the birth.
A few jurisdictions do
provide for pre-birth orders, generally only in cases when the surrogate mother
is not genetically related to the expected child. Some jurisdictions impose
other requirements in order to issue birth orders: for example, that the
intended parents be heterosexual and married to one another. Jurisdictions that
provide for pre-birth orders are also more likely to provide for some kind of
enforcement of surrogacy contracts.
Citizenship[edit]
The citizenship and legal
status of the children resulting from surrogacy arrangements can be
problematic. The Hague Conference Permanent Bureau identified the question of
citizenship of these children as a "pressing problem" in the
Permanent Bureau 2014 Study (Hague Conference Permanent Bureau, 2014a: 84-94).[36][37] According to U.S. Department
of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, for a child born abroad to be a U.S.
citizen one or both of the child's genetic parents must be a U.S. citizen. In
other words, the only way for a foreign born surrogate child to acquire U.S.
citizenship automatically at birth is if he/she is the biological son or
daughter of a U.S. citizen. Further, in some countries, the child will not be a
citizen of the country in which he/she is born because the surrogate mother is
not legally the parent of said child. This could result in a child being born
without citizenship.[38]
Ethical issues[edit]
Numerous ethical
questions have been raised with regards to surrogacy. They generally stem from
concerns relating to social justice, women's rights, child welfare, and
bioethics.
Surrogate
Mother[edit]
Those that view surrogacy
as a social justice issue argue that it leads to the exploitation of women in
developing countries whose wombs are commodified to meet the reproductive needs
of the more affluent.[39][40][41][42][43] While opponents of this stance
argue that surrogacy provides a much-needed source of revenue for women facing
poverty in developing countries, others purport that the lack of legislation in
such countries often leads to much of the profit accruing to middlemen and
commercial agencies rather than the surrogate mothers themselves.[39][40] It has been argued that under
laws of countries where surrogacy falls under the umbrella of adoption,
commercial surrogacy can be considered problematic as payment for adoption is
unethical, but not paying a surrogate mother for her service is a form of
exploitation.[44] Both opponents and supporters
of surrogacy have agreed that implementing international laws on surrogacy can
limit the social justice issues that surrogate mothers face in transnational surrogacy.[45]
Other human rights
activists express concern over the conditions under which surrogate mothers are
kept by surrogacy clinics which exercise much power and control over the
process of surrogate pregnancy.[39][40] Isolated from friends and
family and required to live in separate surrogacy hostels on the pretext of
ensuring consistent prenatal care, it
is argued that surrogate mothers may face psychological challenges that cannot
be offset by the (limited) economic benefits of surrogacy.[39][40] Other psychological issues are
noted, such as the implications of surrogate mothers emotionally detaching
themselves from their babies in anticipation of birth departure.[41]
The relevance of a
woman's consent in judging the ethical acceptability of surrogacy is another
point of controversy within human rights circles. While some hold that any
consensual process is not a human rights violation, other human rights
activists argue that human rights are not just about survival but about human
dignity and respect.[43] Thus, decisions cannot be
defined as involving agency if they are driven by coercion, violence, or
extreme poverty, which is often the case with women in developing countries who
pursue surrogacy due to economic need or aggressive persuasion from their
husbands.[39][40][41][43] On the other end of the
spectrum, it has been argued that bans on surrogacy are violations of human
rights under the existing laws of the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights reproductive rights landmark.[46]
Feminists have also argued that surrogacy
is an assault to a woman's dignity and right to autonomy over her body.[41][42][43] By degrading impoverished
women to the mere status of “baby producers”, commercial surrogacy has been
accused by feminists of commodifying women's bodies in a manner akin to prostitution.[41] Feminists also express concerns over
links between surrogacy and patriarchal expressions of domination as
numerous reports have been cited of women in developing countries coerced into
commercial surrogacy by their husbands wanting to “earn money off of their
wives’ bodies”.[41]
Supporters of surrogacy
have argued to mandate education of surrogate mothers regarding their rights
and risks through the process in order to both rectify the ethical issues that
arise and to enhance their autonomy.[47]
Child[edit]
Those concerned with
the rights of the child in
the context of surrogacy reference issues related to identity and parenthood,
abandonment and abuse, and child trafficking.
It is argued that in
commercial surrogacy, the rights of the child are often neglected as the baby
becomes a mere commodity within an economic transaction of a good and a service.[48] Such opponents of surrogacy
argue that transferring the duties of parenthood from the birthing mother to a
contracting couple denies the child any claim to its “gestational carrier” and
to its biological parents if the egg and/or sperm is/are not that of the
contracting parents.[42] In addition, they claim that
the child has no right to information about any siblings he or she may have in
the latter instance.[42] The relevance of disclosing
the use of surrogacy as an assisted
reproductive technique to the child has also been argued to be
important for both health risks and the right's of the child.[49]
Child welfare concerns
also relate to the abandonment and abuse of children that may occur in cases
where the intending parents divorce, change their minds, or decide they want a
different child.[43] For example, the abandonment
of a twin boy with Down syndrome by
an Australian couple resulted in Thailand banning surrogacy.[43]
Those which deem
surrogacy as a violation to the rights of the child often cite cases of trafficking and
selling of surrogate children across borders in Cambodia and other countries, leading to
statelessness and lack of citizenship amongst other issues.[43]
Religious issues[edit]
See
also: Religious response to assisted reproductive technology
Different religions take
different approaches to surrogacy, often related to their stances on assisted
reproductive technology in general.
Catholicism[edit]
The Catholic Church is generally opposed to
surrogacy which it views as immoral and incompatible with Biblical texts
surrounding topics of birth, marriage, and life.[citation needed] Paragraph
2376 of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church states that: "Techniques that entail the dissociation
of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple
(donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral."[50] Many proponents of this stance
express concern that the sanctity of marriage may be compromised by the
insertion of a third party into the marriage contract.[51] Additionally, the practice
of in vitro
fertilisation involved in gestational surrogacy is generally
viewed as morally impermissible due to its removal of human conception from the
sacred process of sexual intercourse.[51] Pro-life Catholics
also condemn in vitro fertilisation due to the killing of embryos that
accompanies the frequent practice of discarding, freezing, or donating
non-implanted eggs to stem cell research.[51] As such, the Catholic Church
deems all practices involving in vitro fertilisation, including gestational
surrogacy, as morally problematic.[citation needed]
Judaism[edit]
In general, there is a
lack of consensus within the Jewish community on the
matter of surrogacy. Jewish scholars and rabbis have
long debated this topic, expressing conflicting views on both sides of the
debate.
Those supportive of
surrogacy within the Jewish religion generally
view it as a morally permissible way for Jewish women who cannot conceive to
fulfill their religious obligations of procreation.[52][53] Rabbis who favour this stance
often cite Genesis 9:1 which
commands all Jews to “be fruitful and multiply”.[52] In 1988, the Committee
on Jewish Law and Standards issued formal approval for
surrogacy, concluding that “the mitzvah of parenthood is so great that ovum
surrogacy is permissible”.[52]
Jewish scholars and
Rabbis which hold an anti-surrogacy stance often see it as a form of modern slavery wherein
women's bodies are exploited and children are commodified.[52] As Jews possess the religious
obligation to “actively engage in the redemption of those who are enslaved”,
practices seen as involving human exploitation are morally condemned.[52] This thinking aligns with
concerns brought forth by other groups regarding the relation between surrogacy
practices and forms of human trafficking in certain countries with
large fertility tourism industries. Many Jewish
scholars and Rabbis also cite ethical concerns surrounding the “broken
relationship” between the child and its surrogate birth mother”.[52] Rabbi Immanuel Jacovits, chief
rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation from 1976 to
1991, reported in his 1975 publication Jewish Medical Ethics that
“to use another person as an incubator and then take from her the child that
she carried and delivered for a fee is a revolting degradation of maternity and
an affront to human dignity.”[52]
Another point of
contention surrounding surrogacy within the Jewish community is the issue of
defining motherhood. There are generally three conflicting views on this topic:
1) the ovum donor is the mother, 2) the surrogate mother is the mother, and 3)
the child has two mothers- both the ovum donor and the surrogate mother.[53] While most contend that
parenthood is determined by the woman giving birth, a minority opt to consider
the genetic parents the legal parents, citing the well-known passage in Sanhedrin 91b
of the Talmud which states that life begins at
conception.[53] Also controversial is the
issue of defining Judaism in the context of surrogacy. Jewish Law states that if a Jewish woman
is the surrogate, then the child is Jewish.[53] However, this often raises
issues when the child is raised by a non-Jewish family and approaches for
addressing this issue are also widely debated within the Jewish community.[53]
Hinduism[edit]
As India and
other countries with large Hindu populations have
become centers for fertility tourism, numerous questions have been raised
regarding whether or not surrogacy conflicts with the Hindu religion.[54] While Hindu scholars have not
debated the issue extensively, T. C. Anand Kumar, a renowned Indian
reproductive biologist, argues that there is no conflict between Hinduism and
assisted reproduction.[55] Others have supported this
stance with reference to Hindu mythology, including a story in
the Bhagavata Purana which
suggests the practice of surrogate motherhood:[54]
Kan(sh) the wicked king
of Mathura, had imprisoned his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudeva because
oracles had informed him that her child would be his killer. Every time she
delivered a child, he smashed its head on the floor. He killed six children.
When the seventh child was conceived, the gods intervened. They summoned the
goddess Yogamaya and had her transfer the fetus from the womb of Devaki to the
womb of Rohini (Vasudeva’s other wife who lived with her sister Yashoda across the
river Yamuna, in the village of cowherds at Gokul). Thus the child conceived in
one womb was incubated in and delivered through another womb.[54]
Additionally, infertility
Is often associated with Karma in the Hindu
tradition and consequently treated as a pathology to be treated.[56] This has led to general
acceptance of medical intervention for addressing infertility amongst Hindus.[56] As such, surrogacy and other
scientific methods of assisted
reproduction are generally supported within the Hindus
community.[56] Nonetheless, Hindu women do
not commonly use surrogacy as an option to treat infertility, despite often serving as
surrogates for Western commissioning couples.[54][56] When surrogacy is practiced by
Hindus, it is more likely to be used within the family circle as opposed to
involving anonymous donors.[56]
Jainism[edit]
Harinegameshin Transfers
Mahavira's Embryo, from a Kalpasutra manuscript, c. 1300-1350, Philadelphia
Museum of Art
Jain scholars have not debated the issue
of surrogacy extensively. Nonetheless, the practice of surrogacy is referenced
in the Śvētāmbara tradition
of Jainism according to which the embryo of
Lord Mahavira was transferred from a Brahmin woman Devananada to the womb
of Trishala, the queen of Kshatriya ruler Siddharth, by a divinity
named Harinegameshin.[57] This account is not present
in Digambara Jain texts, however.
Other sources state that
surrogacy is not objectionable in the Jain view as it is seen as a physical
operation akin to any other medical treatment used to treat a bodily
deficiency.[58] However, some religious
concerns related to surrogacy have been raised within the Jain community
including the loss of non-implanted embryos, destruction of traditional
marriage relationships, and adulterous implications of gestational
surrogacy.[58]
Buddhism[edit]
Buddhist thought is also inconclusive on
the matter of surrogacy. The prominent belief is that Buddhism totally accepts surrogacy since
there are no Buddhist teachings suggesting that infertility treatments or surrogacy are
immoral.[54] This stance is further
supported by the common conception that serving as a surrogate mother is an
expression of compassion and therefore automatically aligns with Buddhist values.[59]
However, numerous
Buddhist thinkers have expressed concerns with certain aspects of surrogacy,
hence challenging the contention that surrogacy is always compatible with
Buddhist tradition.[60][59] One Buddhist perspective on
surrogacy arises from the Buddhist belief in reincarnation as a manifestation of karma.[59] According to this view,
surrogate motherhood circumvents the workings of karma by interfering with the
natural cycle of reincarnation.[59]
Others reference
the Buddha directly
who purportedly taught that trade in sentient beings, including human beings,
is not a righteous practice as it almost always involves exploitation that
causes suffering.[61] Susumu Shimazono, professor of
Religious Studies at the University of Tokyo,
contends in the magazine "Dharma World" that surrogacy places the
childbearing surrogate in a position of subservience, in which her body becomes
a “tool” for another.[59] Simultaneously, other Buddhist
thinkers argue that as long as the primary purpose of being a surrogate mother
is out of compassion instead of profit, it is not exploitative and is therefore
morally permissible.[61] This further highlights the
lack of consensus on surrogacy within the Buddhist community.
Islam[edit]
The Islamic community has largely outlawed
the practice of surrogacy, however there remains a small population of Muslims
which contend that the practice of surrogacy does not conflict with Islamic law.[62]
The main concerns that
Muslims raise with regard to surrogacy relate to issues of adultery and parental lineage.[62][63][64] Many Muslim groups claim that
surrogate motherhood is not permitted under Islamic law because it is akin
to zina (adultery) which is strictly prohibited in the Muslim
religion.[62][63][64] This is based on the fact that
in gestational surrogacy, the surrogate carries the fertilized egg of someone
who is not her legal husband, thus transgressing the bounds of Allah as
stated in the Quran: “Those who guard their private parts
except from their spouses…” (Al-Mu’minun 23:5) “Whosoever goes beyond
that are indeed transgressors” (Al-Mu’minun 23:7).[62][64] Additionally, arguments have
been raised that surrogacy interferes with the preservation of lineage (hifz
al-nasl) which is one of the five universals and objectives of Sharia law.[62][63][64] For Muslims, the Qur’anic
injunction that “their mothers are only those who conceived them and gave birth
to them (waladna hum)” denies the distinction between genetic and
gestational mothers, hence complicating notions of lineage within the context
of surrogacy, which are central to the Muslim faith.[62][65]
In contrast, a minority
of Muslim proponents of surrogacy argue that Islamic law recognizes the preservation
of the human species as one of its primary objectives (maqasid), and allowing married couples to
pursue conceiving children is part of this primary objective.[62] They also contend that the
surrogate mother cannot be accused of zina because
no sexual intercourse with
a non-legal husband is required for her pregnancy.[62] Finally, they argue that the
lineage of the child can be traced to the biological parents and hence
questions of lineage are easily resolvable.[62] They support this by drawing
comparisons between hiring a surrogate mother and hiring a woman to breast feed one's child which is an
acceptable practice under Islamic law.[62]
Fertility tourism[edit]
Main
article: Fertility tourism
Some countries, such as
the United States, Canada, Greece, Ukraine, Georgia and Russia, are popular
surrogacy destinations for foreign intended parents. Eligibility, processes and
costs differ from country to country. Fertility tourism for surrogacy is driven
by legal restrictions in the home country or the incentive of lower prices
abroad. Previously popular destinations, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Mexico
have all recently implemented bans on commercial surrogacy for non-residents.[66]
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