What is a surrogate mother? The surrogate mother by definition is a woman who carries and gives birth to a child for the purpose to give it up to another party legally. Sometimes the child is genetically related to her and many times it is not. For the most parts a surrogate mother will be compensated for her role, but there are some women who do it for free, maybe just her legal and medical expenses paid for. There are surrogate agencies that handle much of the process for both parties and many people find going through a surrogate agency comforting and reliable instead of trying to figure it all out on their own. Surrogacy is a highly complicated situation.
Some people are comfortable with the surrogate to have visitations with the surrogate baby, especially if the surrogate mother is genetically related to the child, which happens in a high percentage of surrogacy. More often than not, after the child is delivered, the surrogate will not see the child again or be in its life in any capacity. Depending on the genetic link to the child, one or both of the new parents will have to legally adopt the new baby.
A surrogate pregnancy is the same as any other pregnancy with medical fees and possible complications. A woman who agrees to surrogacy should and usually is compensated for her services. Also, her medical and legal bills will be paid for by the adopting parents. Surrogates can be related, friends, family or strangers. There are many forms of surrogacy and every combination imaginable has probably already been done!
It might be surprising to learn that many countries, even so called “Western” countries, make surrogacy illegal. Australia, for instance, has made commercial surrogacy illegal and one state is “considering” making altruistic surrogacy legal, but that’s it. All types of surrogacy is illegal in France and commercial surrogacy is illegal in Canada. In fact in most countries, some form of surrogacy is illegal. The laws surrounding and regarding surrogacy are complicated and should be understood completely before making any decisions. Many people come to the United States to find their surrogate mother, but even or especially in the U.S. the laws are complicated.
The surrogacy legal issues can be beyond frustrating for all parties involved. Some governments feel they are protecting children while the people who cannot have babies feel they are being kept from becoming parents. Either way the issues of becoming a surrogate mother or having a surrogate for your baby can make a difficult situation that much more stressful.