Ethics, law, and commercial surrogacy: A call for uniformity

Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics

Volumn 35, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 300-309

  Drabiak, Katherine ^a   Wegner, Carole ^b,c   Fredland, Valita ^f   Helft, Paul R ^d,e  

^a INDIANA UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Center for Reproductive Biology of Indiana   (United States)

^c CHARLES UNIVERSITY   (Czech Republic)

^d INDIANA UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^e Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics   (United States)

^f NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADOPTION; ARTICLE; ECONOMICS; ETHICS; FEMALE; FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT; HUMAN; LEGAL ASPECT; MOTHER; PREGNANCY; STATISTICS; UNITED STATES;

ADOPTION; FEMALE; HUMANS; MARKETING OF HEALTH SERVICES; PREGNANCY; SURROGATE MOTHERS; UNITED STATES;

EID: 34249081386     PISSN: 10731105     EISSN: 1748720X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00139.x     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. This paper only addresses commercial surrogacy defined where the surrogate is compensated above reasonable expenses, and agreements are facilitated by reproductive services agencies such as medical or legal facilities. All mention of surrogacy throughout this paper refers to this definition. All facts mentioned in this article with respect to case example were derived from the Indianapolis Star coverage unless otherwise noted.
2. K. Corcoran Adoption Deal Questioned Indianapolis Star, July 31, 2005, at A1.
3. Id.
4. Id.
5. Id. R. Holladay Lawyer: N.J. Man Isn't Biological Father Indianapolis Star, August 7, 2005, at B1.
6. K. Corcoran Adoption Deal Questioned Indianapolis Star, July 31, 2005. The premature twins were being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during this incident. According to the Indianapolis Star, it would not be medically advisable to remove the twins from the NICU because one twin was breathing with the assistance of oxygen.
7. Id.
8. Id.
9. Id.
10. Id.
11. K. Corcoran Judge Asks Feds to Review Surrogacy Indianapolis Star, August 2, 2005, at A1. Each element listed is based on a local judge's professional opinion of the case as discussed in the Indianapolis Star.
12. IC 31-20-1-1 (1997).
13. K. Corcoran Judge Asks Feds to Review Surrogacy Indianapolis Star, August 2, 2005 K. Corcoran, "Adoption Deal Questioned," Indianapolis Star, July 31, 2005, at A1.
14. M.C.L.A. 722.859 (1988); A.C.A. § 9-10-201 (1989); see also A.C.A. 9-9-207 (2005).
15. J. C. Ciccarelli and J. K. Ciccarelli The Legal Aspects of Parental Rights in Assisted Reproductive Technology Journal of Social Issues 61, no. 1 (2005 127-137, at 132.
16. Courts have adjudicated varied questions regarding the legal status of the contract; the enforceability of the contract; public policy issues; parentage determinations; and the best interest of the resulting child; they arrived at different results. See Johnson v. Calvert, 851 P.2d 776 (1993); Surrogate Parenting Associates, Inc. v. Com. Ex. Rel. Armstrong, 704 S.W.2d 209 (1986) Doe v. Attorney General, 487 N.W.2d 484 (1992).
17. A.C.A. 9-10-201 (1989).
18. V.T.C.A., Family Code § 161.103 (2003).
19. IC 31-20-1-1 to IC 31-20-1-3 (1997); KRS § 199.590 (2005).
20. IC 31-9-2-127 (1997).
21. IC 31-20-1-1 (1997). Declaring enforcement of the terms of the contract as against public policy is distinct from classifying the surrogacy contract itself against public policy as implemented by the Louisiana, Michigan, New York, and Washington statutes. By stating the entire contract is against public policy, this suggests a more fervent statement of legislative opinion.
22. KRS § 199.590 (2005).
23. Surrogate Mothers, Inc., available at http://www.surrogatemothers.com last visited April 11, 2007).
24. IC 31-20-1-1 (1997).
25. See Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23 Surrogate Parenting Associates, Inc., available at http://www.babies-by-levin.com last visited April 11, 2007).
26. Neb.Rev.St. § 25-21, 200 (1988).
27. Id.
28. LSA- R.S. 9:2713 (1987); M.C.L.A. 722.855 (1988); McKinney's DLR § 122 (1992); West's RWCA 26.26.240 (1989).
29. Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23; Surrogate Parenting Associates, Inc., supra note 25.
30. M.C.L.A. 722.859 (1988).
31. Id.
32. McKinney's DLR § 123 (1992).
33. West's RWCA 26.26.250 (1989).
34. Surrogacy Specialists of America, available atr http://www.ssa-agency.com (last visited April 11, 2007); Reproductive Options, L.L.C., available at http://www.geocities.com/sulli-vanlawfrm@sbcglobal.net last visited July 12, 2006).
35. See Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23; Fertility Futures, available at http://www.surrogateweb.com last visited April 11, 2007).
36. Id.
37. D. Spar, The Baby Business (Boston : Harvard Business School Press 2006 at 77.
38. Shrybman Law Offices, P.C., available at http://www.surrogacy-solutions. com last visited July 12, 2006).
39. R. J. Edelmann Surrogacy: The Psychological Issues Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology 22, no. 2 (2004 123-136, at 126.
40. See Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23.
41. H. Ragone, Surrogate Motherhood: Conception in the Heart (Boulder : Westview Press, 1994 at 57; J. C. Ciccarelli and L. J. Beckman, "Navigating Rough Waters: An Overview of Psychological Aspects of Surrogacy," Journal of Social Issues 61, no. 1 (2005): 21-43, at 30.
42. Id.
43. V. Jadva Surrogacy: The Experiences of Surrogate Mothers Human Reproduction 18, no. 10 (2003 2196-2204, at 2199.
44. See Ragone, supra note 41, at 57; see also B. Williams-Jones Commercial Surrogacy and the Redefinition of Motherhood Journal of Philosophy, Science & Law 2 (2002 available at http://www.psljournal.com/archives/papers/ comsur_wil-liamsjones.cfm last visited July 18, 2006).
45. K. Corcoran Surrogate Mom Runs Day Care in S.C. Indianapolis Star, July 31, 2005, at A15.
46. See Ragone, supra note 41, at 52.
47. G. M. Goslinga-Roy Body Boundaries, Fiction of the Female Self: An Ethnographic Perspective on Power, Feminism, and the Reproductive Technologies Feminist Studies 26, no. 1 (2000 113-141, at 123.
48. See Ragone, supra note 41, at 72.
49. See Williams-Jones, supra note 44.
50. See van den Akker, infra note 52, at 150; see also Ciccarelli and Beckman, supra note 41, at 32.
51. See Williams-Jones, supra note 44.
52. O van den Akker Genetic and Gestational Surrogate Mothers' Experience of Surrogacy Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology 21, no. 2 (2003 145-161, at 156.
53. See Ciccarelli and Beckman, supra note 41, at 31.
54. The Fertility Institutes, available at http://www.fertility-docs.com last visited April 11, 2007 see Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23.
55. Fertility Futures, supra note 35.
56. See Williams-Jones, supra note 44.
57. See van den Akker, supra note 52, at 146; see also Ragone, supra note 41, at 62.
58. See Ragone, supra note 41, at 52.
59. Id., at 59.
60. See Jadva, supra note 43, at 2199.
61. See Ragone, supra note 41, at 5.
62. Affordable Surrogacy Options, available at http://www. affordablesurrogacyoptions.com last visited July 12, 2006). Between the time the paper was drafted and final review for publication, the website had been taken down.
63. Law Offices of Diane Michelsen, P.C., available at http://www. familyformation.com last visited July 12, 2006).
64. See Surrogacy Specialists of America, supra note 34; Robert Nichols Esq., P.C., at http//www.robertnicholsesq.com/surro-gates.html (last visited April 11, 2007).
65. Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23.
66. Loving Donation, available at http://www.lovingdonation.com last visited April 11, 2007).
67. See Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23; id., Fertility Futures, supra note 35.
68. See Surrogate Mothers, Inc., supra note 23.
69. M. A. Rothstein and C. A. Fertility Futures, supra note 35.
70. Id.
71. Id.
72. M. A. Rothstein and C. A. Surrogacy Specialists of America, supra note 34.
73. M. A. Rothstein and C. A. The Fertility Institutes, supra note 54.
74. M. A. Rothstein and C. A. Affordable Surrogacy Options, supra note 62; The Fertility Institutes, supra note 54; Shrybman Law Offices, P.C., supra note 38.
75. Everything Surrogacy, available at http://www.everythingsur-rogacy.com last visited April 11, 2007).
76. Law Offices of Diane Michelsen, P.C., supra note 63.
77. Surrogacy Specialists of America, supra note 34; see also Reproductive Options, L.L.C., supra note 34.
78. Reproductive Options, L.L.C., supra note 34.
79. The Fertility Institutes, supra note 54.
80. Surrogate Parenting Associates, Inc., supra note 25.
81. 42 U.S.C.A. § 274e (1988 see also 18 U.S.C.A. § 2421 (1998) and 18 U.S.C.A. § 2422 (2003), which outline interstate regulation of prostitution, another business venture that compensates the service of the body.
82. 42 U.S.C.A. § 274e (1988).
83. Spar, supra at 71.
84. Id.
85. M.C.L.A. 722.859 (1988).
86. West's F.S.A. § 742.15 (1993).
87. See The Fertility Institutes, supra note 54.