Generality
The surrogate mother is the one who carries out a pregnancy on behalf of others .
More in detail, the surrogate mother is a woman who "lends herself" to lead a pregnancy, up to delivery, on behalf of people who cannot have children for various reasons. The act of completing a gestation for others is called surrogacy . However, in common parlance, referring to this particular practice, it is not uncommon to hear about "rented womb".
Taking a path to surrogacy is not an act permitted anywhere. In fact, each state has its own legislation on the matter. In Italy, for example, the law prohibits any woman from becoming a surrogate mother.
Who is the Surrogate Mother?
Who is the Surrogate Mother and what responsibilities do you assume?
With the nickname of surrogate mother - pregnant for others, supportive pregnant or gestational carrier - we want to indicate a woman who has decided to undertake and carry out a pregnancy on behalf of people who, for any reason, are not in able to conceive or have children.
Generally, between the surrogate mother and the couple or the individual requesting subrogation there is a very specific agreement sanctioned by a gestational subrogation contract . The content and salient points of this contract may vary depending on the legislation of the state in which you are located. In any case, regardless of what is written in the contract, the surrogate mother undertakes to renounce any rights on the unborn child and on the unborn and to "deliver" them, after birth, to the couple or the individual who have requested gestation for others.
Surrogate Mother and Biological Mother
Usually, the surrogate mother is not the biological mother of the child or children being born, because, whenever possible, the gametes (oocytes and spermatozoa) of the couple requesting the surrogate are used. However, this does not always happen; in fact, it is possible both to resort to the use of gametes coming from foreign donors to the designated parents and to the surrogate mother, and to use the eggs of the surrogate mother and the seminal fluid of the aspiring parents that require the subrogation.
Did you know that ...
In countries where maternity subrogation is legally permitted, there are real agencies that deal with finding and putting the surrogate mother in touch with parents who are requesting gestation for others. These agencies usually also deal with the drafting of the management subrogation contract and all the bureaucratic procedures involved.
Surrogate Maternity
What's this?
Surrogacy - also known as surrogacy for maternity, gestational surrogacy, gestation support or gestation for others - is a technique of assisted procreation in which the surrogate mother undertakes to carry out a pregnancy "on commission" from others.
Types of Surrogate Maternity
There are basically two types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational .
Traditional surrogacy
Also known as surrogacy of genetic or partial maternity, this form of gestation for others involves the natural or artificial insemination of the surrogate mother. Therefore, the egg that will give rise to the embryo will belong to the latter, while the spermatozoa can come from the designated parent, or from a donor.
In the first case, the unborn child will be genetically related to both the parent who provided the male gametes and the surrogate mother. In the second case, however, the unborn child will not be genetically related to any of the designated parents, but will be genetically related to the surrogate mother and the donor (external to the couple) who provided the male gametes.
Depending on the jurisdiction in force, insemination can:
- Be performed privately by requesting parents and by the surrogate mother without medical intervention;
- Request medical attention.
If gametes are used from donors, instead - again according to the jurisdiction in force - the persons requesting the subrogation may have to face an adoption process to obtain the parental rights on the unborn child or on the unborn child.
Gestational surrogacy
In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother is not genetically related to the unborn child or to the unborn child, since the male and / or female gametes of the aspiring parents and / or the female and / or male gametes of one or more donors are used. In this case, therefore, the so-called in vitro fertilization is carried out and, in no case, will the child or children born be genetically related to the surrogate mother.
To learn more about the medical procedures that can be used to start gestation for others, we recommend reading the following articles: Artificial Insemination - Intrauterine Insemination - In Vitro Fertilization.
Who Requires It
Who can apply for the Maternity Subrogation?
The request for subrogation of maternity is usually carried out in case of fertility problems, of one or both parents, or in any case in all those cases in which - for any reason - they cannot take a pregnancy.
In some states, in addition to heterosexual couples, even gay couples who wish to have children can turn to a surrogate mother.
Furthermore, if required by law, maternity subrogation can also be requested by individuals and not just by couples, heterosexual or homosexual.
Maternity Surrogate in Italy
Is the Maternity Subrogation Allowed in Italy?
To date (2018), the use of a surrogate mother and gestation for others in Italy is a practice prohibited to all .
In the event that a couple or a single person of Italian nationality would like to go abroad to carry out the surrogacy of maternity, there could be problems in recognizing the parenting of the child / children once they have returned to the national territory.
Normally, the law provides for the recognition of parenting only for biological parents, while if the gametes come from donors, recognition is not automatic. Furthermore, since gestation for others is not allowed on Italian soil, at the moment, there is no clear and complete discipline regarding the parental rights that applicants can acquire or not against one or more children born of a surrogate mother.
Surrogate Maternity in the World
In which countries is it legal to become a surrogate mother and practice the subrogation of motherhood?
There are several countries where surrogacy is legally permitted, even if, each of them, has a specific legislation in this regard.
To give some examples, based on data dating back to the year 2017, it emerged that gestational subrogation is permitted: in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States (but not in all the States that are part of it), in Greece, in Portugal, Albania, Georgia, Ukraine and Russia.
Among the countries where surrogacy is forbidden to all (always based on data collected in the year 2017), instead, we recall: France, Germany, Finland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Croatia, Finland, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Malta, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Poland, etc.
Did you know that ...
In some countries, the surrogate mother has no right to compensation of any kind to complete the pregnancy, since only so-called altruistic surrogacy is allowed, ie free of charge.
In other countries, however, the surrogate mother may request a cash payment to undertake gestation for others. In these cases, one speaks of lucrative surrogacy .
Finally, we recall that, in some states, the use of a surrogate mother is allowed only to heterosexual couples.
Disputes
Mother Surrogate and Gestation for Others: Moral Aspects and Disputes
The surrogate mother and the gestation for others undertaken by it are the subject of debates and controversies all over the world.
The opinions on the morality of the surrogacy of maternity are, in fact, conflicting: if for those who cannot have children the surrogacy of maternity is the only possible alternative, therefore a fundamental "tool"; for others, the status of a surrogate mother is immoral and contrary to the rights and dignity of women.
Did you know that ...
In 2016, in Paris, feminist associations organized a conference to advance the proposal to abolish maternity subrogation worldwide, as it is considered a practice that tramples the dignity of women and that goes against the rights not only of women but also of newborns.
To all this, we must add the debate concerning the possible exploitation that lies behind women in economic difficulties who decide to become surrogate mothers only to get a cash reward. However, it must be remembered that, generally, in the States where surrogacy is allowed, the laws that regulate this type of practice are formulated in such a way as to avoid or at least to combat the phenomenon of exploitation as much as possible, trying to protect rights to the maximum and the dignity of the surrogate mother, as well as the rights of the newborn and designated parents.
