Surrogacy: When another woman gives birth to your baby
Surrogacy consists of having a woman carry out the gestation and delivery of a child on behalf of someone else. The surrogate mother conducts the pregnancy and gives birth to the child and then entrusts it to other people who will become the parents by right. The reasons why these parents choose to turn to a woman for maternity surrogacy can be different.
The surrogacy program - also often referred to as a "rented uterus" - is not allowed everywhere. In Italy, for example, it is prohibited by law and there are many people who decide to go abroad to look for a gestational mother and proceed with insemination or in vitro fertilization.
The gestational carrier - that is the surrogate mother, also known as the "supportive pregnant" - is a woman who, by her own free choice, decides to carry on the pregnancy on behalf of others. having a child (which in any other way they cannot have) sanction a "gestational surrogacy" contract, the content of which varies according to the law of the country in which it is carried out. In any case, according to the law, the renunciation is always sanctioned by part of the surrogate mother to the child, who will be entrusted to the parents (or parent) who requested the gestation immediately after birth.
Surrogacy can take place in different ways, depending on whether the gametes of the couple requesting surrogacy or the gametes of foreign donors are used, whether the eggs of the surrogate mother or the semen of the aspiring parent are "exploited".
Usually, couples or singles with fertility problems, who cannot - for whatever reason - carry on a pregnancy are requesting surrogacy. Abroad, the surrogacy of maternity is in great demand both by heterosexual and homosexual couples, or by individuals of any sexual orientation.
Let's take a closer look at the different techniques and types of surrogacy, what the Italian law says about surrogacy, in which countries it is possible to request it. Finally, we will refer to the always heated debate on the subject, for ethical and biological issues. Surrogacy, in fact, has always been much discussed, as well as in vitro fertilization, which has allowed many women to become a mother. over the years, like this Indian woman, mother at 70:
Types of surrogacy
Surrogacy - commonly known as a "rented uterus" - consists of an assisted procreation technique in which gestation and childbirth are entrusted to a woman on behalf of others. There are two types of surrogacy, traditional and gestational.
Traditional surrogacy - also known as "genetic or partial surrogacy" - involves the "insemination of the surrogate mother, in a natural or artificial way. The ovum, consequently, will be that of the pregnant woman, while the sperms will come from either the parent who he requested it or from a stranger. It goes without saying that in the first case there will be a biological and genetic link between the child and the parent (or one of the parents) who requested the surrogacy, in the second case no.
According to the law, insemination can take place privately without the intervention of a doctor (if done naturally) or with the intervention of a doctor (if artificial). adoptive parents, then there will have to be an adoption process to obtain parental rights over the child.
In gestational surrogacy, on the other hand, the male and female gametes of the couple of intended parents are used. In this case, in vitro fertilization will have to be carried out and the child will have no genetic link with the surrogate mother, but only with the couple who requested the surrogacy.
Surrogacy in Italy: what the law says
The law in Italy prohibits surrogacy. If a couple or a single decide to become parents with gestation for rented uterus, they will have to go abroad, with the risk of running into problems in the recognition of parental rights on the child.
Law 40 of 2004 states verbatim: "Whoever, in any form, carries out, organizes or advertises the marketing of gametes or embryos or the subrogation of maternity is punished with imprisonment from three months to two years and with a fine from 600,000 to one million euros ".
The recognition of parental rights according to Italian law takes place automatically only for biological parents, but if the gametes (be it the egg or the sperm) of a donor are used, then they are not automatically recognized and it will be necessary to contact the judiciary. on this subject manga a clear legislature in our country.
Surrogacy abroad: the countries where the law allows for the surrogacy of maternity
The United States is the first country in the world to have allowed surrogacy by law, although it is not legal in all states. In those where it is legal, there are real agencies that help couples choose the surrogate mother, following the medical and legal procedures.
In Canada, on the other hand, surrogacy is only allowed in an "altruistic" form, as in the United Kingdom: the surrogate mother does not have to be paid, but can receive a possible reimbursement of expenses for the period of gestation.
Unfortunately, in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine it is a very widespread practice for profit and only heterosexual married couples and single women can access it. In Greece, however, it is only allowed if the intended mother is unable to carry on a pregnancy. The surrogate mother cannot receive money and both she and her parents must reside in Greece.
In India it is a legal practice, but prohibited to homosexuals, single foreigners and couples from states where it is prohibited. In Brazil it is only allowed if one of the two parents is related to the surrogate mother. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark it is only allowed in the form where there is a biological link between parents and children and the surrogate mother, right up to the end, can change her mind and keep the child to herself.
In South Africa it is a permitted practice, as well as in Thailand, which unfortunately has become the country most at risk of female exploitation, a real destination for "sexual tourism". After a series of scandals, the government has banned surrogacy by law for non-Thai citizens.
The debate on surrogacy
The surrogacy of maternity has always been at the center of a heated debate. According to the opposite side, it would be a practice that commodifies the woman's body, transforming the child into a sort of "commodity" that can be purchased, forgetting that it is a human being.
On the contrary, the favorable view sees in this type of gestation a "real opportunity for those people who cannot have children.
It must be said that, in the poorest countries, the practice of surrogacy has led women in difficulty to become surrogate mothers solely for economic reasons, facing dangerous exploitation, even to the detriment of their own health. Fortunately, however, in countries where surrogacy is legal, there are laws that clearly regulate the practice, precisely to avoid exploitation as much as possible and to preserve the rights of the surrogate mother, as well as those of the child and future parents.
For more scientific information on surrogacy, you can consult the pdf of the Luca Coscioni Association.
