Disturbing Issues Surrounding Surrogacy Contracts

Disturbing details have emerged surrounding surrogacy contracts, and how or whether they should be enforced.

In an article published on Saturday, July 22, The Washington Examiner, looks at some examples in the US which call into question the ethics of surrogacy, which is illegal in Spain.

The complicated issue can be simply illustrated by the example of ordering a vehicle. If someone orders a red pick-up truck but gets delivered a green sports car, the customer would be in their right to take legal action to force the dealer to deliver the correct product or compensation.

The commercial surrogacy industry is worth a staggering $6 billion, and growing. But what happens if the contract stipulates a healthy baby boy but tests reveal the unborn is a girl or has Down’s syndrome?

It raises the question; can the surrogate mother be forced to terminate the pregnancy or pay damages for failing to deliver? Or suppose the couple change their minds, can they force the mother to abort even if she wants to adopt?

These are some of the real-life issues that are inevitable when human life gets turned into a commodity.

One recent case in Sacramento, California, highlights the problem. A gay couple contracted a woman to deliver a baby boy. Later the woman was diagnosed with breast cancer, who then wanted to deliver the baby at 25 weeks in order to begin life-saving chemotherapy.

However, the contract stated that the couple had paid for a full-term baby and did not want a baby born prematurely. So, as is common in Californian surrogacy contracts, they asked the mother to abort the baby.

When the mother refused to abort the child, the couple threatened legal action. The mother then offered to adopt the child herself. Again the couple again refused, as they didn’t want their DNA ‘out there.’

The mother went ahead and the child was delivered at 25 weeks. Under Californian law, this meant the couple automatically became the legal parents of the child.

At this point, the mother had no rights over the child, and the couple reportedly refused life-saving care for the premature infant, who later died. The couple then arranged for the baby’s cremation.

Other cases have seen surrogate mothers flee California to other American States where contracts are not enforced.

Californian courts cannot force surrogate mothers to abort but they can impose penalties such as loss of payments or withdrawal of medical insurance if they are found in breach of contract.

Calls have been raised to get this multi-billion industry better regulated to avoid the criminalisation and inhumane treatment of surrogates.