Commercial Surrogacy In Australia

Commercial surrogacy is the process in which a woman is paid a fee to carry and deliver a baby to term. Once the baby is delivered, the woman relinquishes all parental rights to the commissioning couple who exclusively raise the child as their own. Altruistic surrogacy, by contrast, is an arrangement where the surrogate receives reimbursement but only for the expenses that she may have incurred during the pregnancy. In this essay I will argue that commercial surrogacy should not be market-inalienable. I will start by outlining Elizabeth Anderson’s argument in “Is Women’s Labor a Commodity?” in which she offers a number of criticisms to commercial surrogacy. I will then outline objections to the argument and highlight how her argument is highly speculative and does not provide an adequate basis for the prohibition of commercial surrogacy.

Gammy was born to a Thai surrogate who was paid by Australian intended parents. Gammy was born with down syndrome and a hole in his heart requiring extensive medical treatment. The intended parents chose to take Gammy’s healthy twin sister back to Australia, leaving Gammy with his surrogate. This case caused international concern, raising awareness of the lack of regulation of international surrogacy arrangements and highlighting the ethical considerations involved in the practice of

I read an article that was published on The Hasting Center Journal, called “The Case Against Surrogate Parenting”, by Herbert Krimmel, Krimmel takes a stand against surrogate motherhood arrangements because of the many ethical issues it causes, he argues surrogate motherhood, is a financial profit, there can be conflicts during the process, and is designed to separate in the mind of the surrogate mother. First, Krimmel argues that the reason a woman often or always undertakes the pregnancy is because of the money motive. He states, “The cause of this dissociation is some other benefit she will receive, most often money.' In other words, her desire to create a child is born of some motive other than the desire to be a parent. This separation

Australian law reforms have been adequately effective in dealing with surrogacy and birthing technologies. The NSW state reforms have effectively supported the changing values of society by aiming to achieve justice and avoid conflicts surrounding surrogacy, while the commonwealth is obsolete on effective laws to prevent surrogacy issues. As the demand for surrogacy and birthing technologies increases, issues surrounding surrogacy are more prevalent in society. Additionally, there is no Commonwealth law, meaning each state and territory has developed individual laws of surrogacy and birthing technologies, allowing for issues and challenges surrounding the protection and the rights of all parties involved.

Law reform is considered proactive with relation to surrogacy and birth technologies, as methods of conception must be permitted before they are conducted. Surrogacy, which occurs when one woman agrees to fall pregnant and bear a child for a couple, is illegal in NSW when the woman is paid a fee or award, under the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 (NSW). Hence, surrogacy must be altruistic. Furthermore, the Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW) now criminalises an international journey for commercial surrogacy.

This is best described in the article “Rules get tough for overseas surrogacy”. People using surrogate mothers in India may no longer be able to do so after the Immigration Department said it would not guarantee citizenship to babies. India is one of the most popular destinations for couples seeking surrogacy arrangements is changing its laws to require prospective parents to obtain a guarantee of citizenship for their child before starting the surrogacy process.

Purdy defends surrogate mothering from a consequentialist point of view. Her case is founded on two premises: firstly, that surrogacy is favourable (that is, it brings about pleasure and reduces pain), and secondly, that the practice is only non-traditional and not morally reprehensible. She thus concludes that "appealing to the sacrosanctity of traditional marriage or of blood ties to prohibit otherwise acceptable practices that would satisfy people 's desires hardly makes sense", and thus, surrogacy should be permissible (Purdy, 1999).

Under s.60 of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, an individual “(a) is liable, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both; or (b) is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding $250,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years, or to both” for not complying with the guidelines set out regarding the duties of the reproduction of a child. A surrogate mother is defined as a woman who carries a fetus conceived through an assisted reproduction procedure which is derived from the genes of a donor or donors, and with the intent of surrendering such child at the time of birth (AHRA, 2004). However, there is still ambiguity felt between surrogates and parents related to what the law sets out as their legal duties in conceiving a child, and this is also pertinent in relation to the context of a working contract. Having said that, this essay aims at addressing the unclarity, pointing to the main arguments in favor of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, and how the decision was aimed to safeguard the rights of those involved; including the child, and to prevent culpability issues within the health sector and many others linked to the overall process.

Good afternoon, Mr Prime Minster, and federal and state members of parliament. I’m Alex Barry-Ramoi, we are all here today to review and debate our current laws affecting the Australian family. As you’ve stated Mr Prime Minster, we are in a time of great social change and family life has become vastly different to that of our grandparents. The values of the new generation are changing and our laws need to be updated to be properly adequate for these changes. One of those laws that I personally feel requires immediate change is our current laws surrounding surrogacy as it has always been and always will be a common desire to have a family. The current laws and penalties are Inconsistent throughout all states, they discriminate especially against same-sex couples, they don’t make clear on what is legally acceptable and our current law system just moves our surrogacy issues overseas.

In Canada, 1 in 6 people will experience infertility where they have trouble conceiving (Fertilitymatters.ca, 2015). Unfortunately, Canada currently does not have reliable statistics on surrogate pregnancy (Lozanski, 2015). Presently, over 4.5 million children have been born through assisted reproductive technologies and this number is increasing each year (Golombok, Blake, Casey, Roman & Jadva, 2013). Even though surrogacy is legal in Canada, surrogates are prohibited from making profit through surrogacy (Surrogacy in Canada Online [SCO], 2015). The Assisted Human Reproduction Act was passed in 2004 where it outlines a surrogate may only be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses including maternity wear (SCO, 2015). Some of the things that

The birth mother is legally considered to be the mother of the child, even if they do not share genetics. Depending on where in the country you live, you will need to take out a parenting order or adopt the baby to become their legal parent. While this may seem like a good thing, incase the woman wishes to keep the child, there is also a dark side to it. Because in most cases the birth mother is legally considered the child's mother, the commissioning couple have no legal obligation to take and keep the child. This legal issue has allowed two disturbing cases of abandonment recently in India and Thailand to happen. Because the contracts were not legally binding the couple was free to walk away from one of their two children, leaving the other behind. This is unacceptable and because it is happening beyond our boarders, we are powerless to stop it. This is why Australia need to review its laws on surrogacy so we can create a legal framework to protect the woman and children and keep them safe within our

Simply, surrogacy involves an agreement between a commissioning couple and a woman, known as the surrogate, who agrees to bear a child for the commissioning couple, and once the baby is born, will give the baby to the commissioning couple. Often this involves the use of sperm and/or ova from the commissioning couple which are conceived to the surrogate using birth technologies. The act of commercial surrogacy is illegal in Australia, however in certain states and the Northern Territory it is still legal to travel overseas to seek out such services commercially. The Australian couple the article focuses on is a prime example of this as they travelled to New Delhi in India to seek out such a surrogacy service.

Surrogacy has been a very controversial issue in many countries. When two couples can not have a baby, they go to a surrogate. A surrogate can have the baby for the couple in which the surrogate is taken care of throughout the entire process. Women that chose to be a surrogate are able to make good money. All surrogate nowadays are either surrogate mothers or gestational carriers. They both carry a baby for other couples through artificial insemination or embryo transfer. Commercial surrogacy is where the surrogate mother or gestational carrier gets paid to carry a child. Commercial surrogacy has all the medical costs paid till after the birth. On the other hand, India government officials disagree with the concept of surrogacy. They

The general notions with regards to the possibility of surrogacy seem to have old origins.(LT) The history of Surrogacy goes way back to the beginning of time; in the Holy Bible and in Roman history. Surrogacy has been a controversial medical process that has faced authorized issues since its arrival. Because surrogacy is used to help an infertile couple have a child, many people are overlooking the fact that there are risks and difficult choices to go along with this issue. In the United States, the first known case of surrogacy occurred in California in the mid-1970s (LT). Official reports on this issue published in the United States lack statistical information on the number of births that were the

The purpose of this essay is to discuss on whether surrogate mothers or those donating gametes for research and in fertility treatment of others receive remuneration for their contribution beyond what is currently offered. This will be done by defining the relevant concepts and associated terminology, discuss on the physical and emotional impact that may occur, the different factors that may lead to exploitation and finally considering what could be done to prevent exploitation.