Surrogacy

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple, who become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for reasons such as infertility, medical dangers or other undesirable factors of pregnancy, or when pregnancy is medically impossible. The woman who carries the pregnancy is the gestational carrier, also called the surrogate or birth mother, and those who take custody are the intended or commissioning parents; gestational carriers are usually introduced to intended parents through third-party agencies or other matching channels. There are two main forms. In gestational surrogacy, also called host or full surrogacy, an embryo created by in-vitro fertilisation is transferred to the carrier, and the resulting child is genetically unrelated to her; the embryo may be created from the intended parents' own egg and sperm, from a donor egg or donor sperm, or from a donated embryo. In traditional surrogacy, also called partial, natural or straight surrogacy, the carrier's own egg is fertilised, usually by the intended father's or a donor's sperm, so she is genetically related to the child. Surrogacy may be undertaken with or without payment; paying the carrier is known as commercial surrogacy, which is regulated or banned in many jurisdictions. Because the legality and cost vary widely between countries, some intended parents travel abroad to access it, contributing to fertility tourism. Medical indications include an absent or abnormal uterus, prior hysterectomy, repeated implantation failure or miscarriage, and serious heart or kidney conditions that make pregnancy harmful.