Surrogacy: Challenges and Ambiguities

Abstract

Surrogacy is an increasingly frequent form of family building and allows individuals to become parents despite an infertility diagnosis or a biological impossibility. Positive outcomes for both the surrogacy child and the surrogate mother have been reported, including in cases of same-sex male couples and single persons. There is an on-going debate because remuneration does not necessarily involve undue inducement of the surrogate or transformation of the child into a commodity. The right to regret and the doctors’ autonomy are also addressed in this paper. Nevertheless, literature on surrogacy is scarce, and most of the existing studies have important methodological limitations, so further investigation is much needed. We believe that counselling should be granted for both intended parents and surrogate, in order to prevent the majority of problems. We also agree that parental vetting should be possible, focusing the doctor’s responsibility also in the future child.

KEYWORDS:

• Surrogacy
• autonomy
• conscientious objection

ORCID

Miguel Ricou http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8190-9587

Notes on contributors

Ana Rita Igreja is a medical doctor and holds a Master Degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine, Porto University.

Miguel Ricou studied psychology, completed his Master in Bioethics, and earned his Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Coimbra in 2012. He works as an Assistant Professor and is researcher of the Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP). He is member of CINTESIS. He is also the President of the Ethics Commission of the Portuguese Order of Psychologists and founder of the European platform ‘Wish to Die’. Miguel Ricou has authored several scientific articles in his main fields of research, such as Bioethics, Professional Ethics, Sexual Education, and Abortion. Correspondence to: Miguel Ricou, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Rua Colégio do Sardão, nr. 615 –bloco G2 hab. 24–4430-361 –Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, Portugal.

Notes

1 An interesting recent decision of the Portuguese Supreme Court stated that newborns have the right to know their genetic antecedents, and it should be forbidden for gamete donors to act anonymously. In the UK, donor anonymity was removed for gamete donors in April 2005 following the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (Disclosure of Donor Information) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1511). Later encompassed within amended disclosure provisions in section 24 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.