The Ethics Of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood

This study addresses the two most controversial issues in surrogate motherhood: the commercial aspect of the practice and the issue of parental rights. After setting the legal and moral backdrop of procreative liberty in general, Rae argues that commercial surrogacy is the moral equivalent of baby-selling and should be prohibited. Add to this the potential for exploitation of the surrogate in practices that are already in motion and it is not hard to see the potential for harm to the parties involved. The book concludes with a survey of state and international law to date on surrogacy and a sample legislative proposal that could be adopted by states that are currently deliberating the issues. The commercial aspect of surrogacy makes it a potentially profitable business, not only for the surrogates but also for the brokers who facilitate the arrangements. This book promotes careful forethought, a reconsideration of definitions of parenthood, and a thorough examination of cases past and pending.

This multi-disciplinary book explores legal, ethical, social, psychological and practical aspects of surrogate motherhood in Britain and abroad.

This book delves deeply into modern surrogacy arrangements, responding to both practical and ethical critiques by offering a radically new model for surrogate motherhood. Current practice distinguishes between two models of surrogacy – the altruistic (unpaid) model and the commercial (paid) model, both of which present social, ethical, and conceptual challenges. This book proposes a novel arrangement for surrogate motherhood – the professional model. Inspired by professions, such as nursing, teaching, and social work, the professional model acknowledges the caring motives that surrogate mothers have while at the same time compensating them for their work. Walker and Van Zyl adopt an evidence-based approach to explain that the professional model enables trust between intended parents and surrogates, provides professional support at every stage of the relationship, affords legal protections against exploitation and commodification, and recognizes the rights and interests of all parties, including the intended baby. The model applies to both transnational and domestic surrogacy and will be of great interest to policy makers, social researchers, bioethicists, legal scholars, fertility professionals, clinicians, and graduate students in psychology, philosophy, medicine and ethics.

"... glimpses of intriguing changes in social arrangements and cultural understandings in relation to surrogacy. Disturbing motherhood indeed." -- New Scientist "Larry Gostin has put together the definitive collection of essays on one of the most perplexing and titillating topics in contemporary medical ethics. This book includes contributions from some of the leading scholars on the legal, ethical, and social aspects of surrogacy, as well as several critical perspectives on the famous Baby M case -- must reading for understanding the surrogate motherhood controversy." -- Robert M. Veatch "Highly recommended... " -- Choice "... a valuable resource for those concerned with an exceedingly difficult ethical, legal, and political problem."Â -- Ethics "There is a wealth of information here on the current 'status questionis' in the United States, and anyone involved in the surrogacy debate, in the U.S. or otherwise, will find working through this material very worthwhile." -- Canadian Philosophical Review "... an excellent sample of some of the best and most varied thinking so far on the numerous conceptual, moral, social, and policy questions raised by contract motherhood." -- The Journal of Clinical Ethics

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book examines the concept of care and care practices in healthcare from the interdisciplinary perspectives of continental philosophy, care ethics, the social sciences, and anthropology. Areas addressed include dementia care, midwifery, diabetes care, psychiatry, and reproductive medicine. Special attention is paid to ambivalences and tensions within both the concept of care and care practices. Contributions in the first section of the book explore phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches to care and reveal historical precursors to care ethics. Empirical case studies and reflections on care in institutionalised and standardised settings form the second section of the book. The concluding chapter, jointly written by many of the contributors, points at recurring challenges of understanding and practicing care that open up the field for further research and discussion. This collection will be of great value to scholars and practitioners of medicine, ethics, philosophy, social science and history.

During the past few years, reproductive technology and surrogacy have emerged in a number of European countries as issues of debate. There has been a steady increase in the use of reproductive technology in the Nordic countries, as well as an increase in the use of cross-border medical treatment in order to achieve pregnancy. At the same time, a number of ethical issues have been raised concerning the rights of the participants, including the children. In the fall of 2013, the Nordic Committee on Bioethics organised a conference in Reykjavik that focused on the current situation in the Nordic countries and on the global aspects of reproductive technology and surrogacy, including the market that is emerging in this field. This conference summary highlights the main ethical issues facing researchers, policymakers and practitioners who deal with these issues.