Surrogacy is a fertility treatment in which a surrogate mother supports a fetus till nine months to dispatch and hand over a child or children for another duo. It is called “womb renting” in which a surrogate lady shows her consent to practice and employ her body for pregnancy and delivers a child where a fee is delivered for this physical job. Surrogates act as carriers, the surrogate mother is not genetically linked with the newborn, so she can’t claim to be the mother of the newborn and her name isn’t written on the confinement certificate of a newborn.
The process of surrogacy
There is a doublet of major designs of surrogacy that explain the process of surrogacy that how it is done.
- Traditional surrogacy: In traditional surrogacy, a surrogate mother is artificially or naturally introduced by the semen of the intended dad, and supports the fetus till nine months. The inheritance and genome of the baby are analogous to both the intended father whose sperms were used and the surrogate mother.
- Gestational surrogacy: In gestational surrogacy, an egg is taken artificially from the intended mother and fertilized with the semen of the intended father in ex-vivo conditions and then the fertilized egg is shifted to a surrogate mother who supports the baby for a gestational period of nine months. The newborn has a genome parallel to the intended father and the intended woman who presented the sperm and egg.
Why there’s need for surrogacy?
There are two common reasons that a couple uses the process of surrogacy to have a child.
- Uterine issues: The uterus is a very vital and amazing organ in females. Some women have uterine problems that prevent their pregnancy and carrying a baby to term.
- Fertility issues: Fertility issues of men and women due to many factors.
Famous Celebrities who got child through Surrogacy
1. Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan: They got a third child through gestational surrogacy.
2. Tusshar Kapoor: He is a single parent and got the child through IVF and surrogacy.
3. Karan Johar: He is a single parent of twins Roohi and Yash. The babies were born through surrogacy.
4. Shilpa Shetty got a baby girl through surrogacy in 2020.
Bio-ethical Issues of Surrogacy
The surrogacy phenomenon is stretching in the world and blooming in the 21st centennial. Generally, this doing is filled with controversy and complexity of the surrogate well-being, fitness, and human equity. Surrogacy raises questions, impediments, and complications in society. There is no national regulation of surrogacy in the US.
A few controversial and argumentative matters raised by surrogacy include:
1. Equity and rights of the children produced through surrogacy.
2. The realistic and ethical outcome of the use of women’s bodies is a major issue.
3. It is done without laws and acts.
4. Many companies of surrogacy perform treachery. Its prevention should be done.
5. The poor women who are desperate for money are exploited.
6. The body of women is transformed into a commercial agreement. Ethical consequences are involved in this transformation.
There is a lack of laws and regulations on the process of surrogacy in the US. Between 2004 and 2006, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recorded a 30% increase in the rate of surrogacy. The experts estimated that countless surrogate births were unrecorded but the actual number was much higher.
Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC) has terminated and halted this process which has become a business and it disrespects human rights. Moreover, surrogacy has turned the process of birth into business by utilizing women’s bodies for benefits.
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) Act
ART law is being proposed by different governments of different countries for the conditions of surrogacy. The duo, isolated guardian and surrogate mother should agree to all the agreements of law.
Some features of the proposed bill at the national and state level to regulate and register the IVF departments and ART clinics are:
1. It is necessary that the surrogate should not be more than 35 years of her age and she had not given birth to more than 5 children in her life.
2. Consent and agreement of surrogate’s husband is necessary and required if she’s married.
3. STD test of a surrogate is done to examine the surrogate is free of any disease and syndrome.
4. She should not have received any blood for the previous six months because it can cause harmful effects on pregnancy.
5. For surrogate mothers, life insurance cover should be included. Banks should deal with surrogate mothers to prevent them from fraud banks should pay them the payment which is fixed according to the law
6. The advertisement and commercial of surrogacy are not allowed to ART clinics and centers. People who are willing for surrogacy should consult directly with ART banks.
7. Intended duo is blameworthy to take guardianship of the child irrespective of any case of abnormality in the child. ART clinics should protect the privacy of the surrogate and the intended duo.
8. In case if an overseas seek surrogacy, an agreement should be signed with a warrant of taking citizenship of the child from the government. Intended foreigners should nominate a guardian to take care of surrogate and child before and after child delivery. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy legislation banned the sex-selective process of surrogacy.
Surrogacy in Pakistan
In Pakistan, We come across multiple oppositions and hurdles regarding this practice because:
1. Pakistan has a weak legal structure.
2. Pakistan is an Islamic state and follows Islamic principles.
3. Pakistan lacks medical science advancements.
Due to these reasons, any newborn has not been produced through gestational surrogacy in Pakistan but traditional surrogacy is done by many centers. Some of which are:
- Hameed Latif Hospital Lahore
- Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center Lahore
- Concept Fertility Center Lahore
- Mother and Child International Hospital Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Conclusion
It seems ironic that people are adopting surrogacy while millions of children are orphans. This activity is rising much higher in India and trends are set by celebrities. In Pakistan, it has not been adopted much because it is prohibited according to our laws and religion Islam. Since now there is not any case of gestational surrogacy in Pakistan but traditional surrogacy is being done in Pakistan. People should adopt orphan children so that they can also live a quality life. Moreover, the person who adopts an orphan has a big reward for that person in this world and the hereafter. There is a strong need to make the adoption procedure simple for all. Government should make the adoption procedure as simple as possible because it will help to bring down the surrogacy rates.
