Ethical Debates About Surrogacy

Commercial surrogacy is one of the most high-tech, expensive, and controversial paths to parenthood. In addition, surrogacy is often fraught with ethical dilemmas and complicated by race, class,[Page 371] and gender distinctions. The relatively high cost of surrogacy means that people who create their families through this route are typically White, affluent couples and individuals who desire a biological tie to their child. In this arrangement, a surrogate mother, often a non-White female of lower socioeconomic status, agrees to bear a child for a person or couple who is unable or, less frequently, unwilling to do so without her assistance. As the number and visibility of gay fathers constructing families through surrogacy increases, it is important to understand how sexuality is implicated in these situations. ...